Overwatch 2's new tank confirmed at BlizzCon 2023, and he's free to play this weekend

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Mauga bursts onto the roster next month

Update: The massive tank Mauga has been confirmed as Overwatch 2's next hero during BlizzCon 2023.

The buff tank Mauga was leaked earlier Friday via an in-depth post on the Nintendo Switch eShop news channel, but now it's official. As revealed in the leak, the new hero has pet chainguns and is designed for close-quarters combat and front line defense. He'll be free to try from today until Sunday, November 5, ahead of his official launch as part of Overwatch 2 season 8.

Original story follows... 

It looks like Overwatch 2’s next hero is properly coming to the game next month and you can try them out this weekend to mark BlizzCon 2023.

Blizzard hasn’t officially revealed the game’s next hero - a buff tank called Mauga - but a leaked post on the Nintendo Switch eShop news channel accidentally dug deep into the upcoming character, his pet chainguns, and his abilities that sound ideal for dive compositions. (Good spot, Polygon.)

Mauga is reportedly a "powerful brawling Tank Hero who will tear through the competition with his incendiary and volatile chainguns." Blizzard says the dual-wielding hero is designed to "bash through the front lines" and engage foes in "close-quarter combat."

That’s probably a good tactic to take out a couple of vulnerable supports, but thankfully, the hero also has some self-sustainability while behind enemy lines. One of his guns, cutely called “Cha-Cha,” can deal critical hits, which then grants him some temporary health through a passive ability called Berserker. The other gun, “Gunny,” deals incendiary damage and can cause enemies to burn once they’ve taken enough damage.

To break through the front lines (and potentially break out once things get rough), Mauga has access to Overrun, “a charging ability that cannot be stopped by any crowd control abilities.” That means that Ana’s Sleep Dart and such similar moves will be null. His Cardiac Overdrive ability also reduces incoming damage for himself and nearby allies, which also sounds invaluable when diving. 

Finally, his ultimate ability, Cage Fight, will lock enemies in a “cylindrical fighting ring” bordered up by a barrier that blocks damage and healing from the outside. I can already imagine the Mauga versus Zenyatta memes that’ll come from these frankly unfair cage fights.

Blizzard apparently plans to properly release Mauga alongside Overwatch 2’s Season 8 which is due to start on December 8. But all players will be able to try the tank later today, from Friday to Sunday (November 3 to November 5.)

Mauga is set to become Overwatch’s whopping 39th hero, but he’s actually not new to the universe. Fans have long speculated that Mauga could be an incoming playable character based on his appearances in past Overwatch comics, his ties to support character Baptiste and the Mauga-related references found in some maps.

Overwatch 2 was graded as “Overwhelmingly Negative” upon its Steam launch.

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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