2026’s massive Overwatch update is re-shaping the game yet again, potentially in even bigger ways than 2025’s update did.
The update launches next week on Feb. 10, and it feels like a bigger overhaul than the addition of Perks and Stadium mode last year. Because it’s all starting anew, with the game dropping the 2 from its title and just being known as Overwatch yet again, beginning fresh with season one in what Blizzard is calling Reign of Talon.
Feb. 10 marks the beginning of The Reign of Talon, a year-long narrative arc that Blizzard has been teasing on social media for the past week or so. It all begins with season one’s addition of a whopping five new heroes: Domina (Tank), Emre and Anran (Damage), and Mizuki and Jetpack Cat (Support). Yep, after capturing hearts years ago as an idea from an early hero concept, Jetpack Cat is finally here, and they will be playable starting on Tuesday. Check out all of their designs in the slideshow above.
The renewed focus on narrative kicks off with Vendetta seizing control of Talon, setting off new happenings in the game’s story. This will include things like in-game events, cinematics and hero trailers, short stories and comics, and live visual updates to the game’s maps to reflect events that happen in the story. There’s also new voice lines and character interactions, and a fully-integrated narrative viewer to catch up on lore drops.
The first of these in-game events is a five-week faction war where players can choose to align with Overwatch or the villainous Talon organization to earn a slew of cosmetics and over 90 total loot boxes of varying rarities.
But season one is just the beginning of Overwatch’s new trajectory. Through season six in 2026 (new season every two months), five more new heroes will arrive for a total of 10 throughout the calendar year, and the game’s next narrative arc will bring even more excitement yet again next February.
The Reign of Talon update will also include reworks to hero role passives, including three new sub-roles within each. For example, the Bruiser sub-role for Tanks (Mauga, Orisa, Roadhog, Zarya) will reduce critical damage received, and give them a movement speed boost when at low health. For Damage heroes, the Recon sub-role (Echo, Freja, Pharah, Sombra) will allow them to detect enemies below half health through walls after dealing damage to them. And for Supports, there’s the Survivor sub-role (Brigitte, Illari, Juno, Mizuki, Wuyang) that will trigger health regeneration after using a movement ability.
Along with Competitive system updates, there’s also a new UI/UX refresh to make the game feel newer than ever. Season one launches with a new 3D hero lobby that will expand to feature your full party in season four, a new hub for notifications, faster navigation, and “reduced friction,” and revamps to the hero gallery, social panel, and overall global navigation.
Collabs? Yeah, those are back, too, including an iconic one from Feb. 10 to 23 featuring Hello Kitty and Friends characters from Sanrio. Skins include Hello Kitty Juno, Cinnamoroll Kiriko, Pompompurin Mercy, My Melody D.Va, Kuromi Widowmaker, and Keroppi Lucio.
Throughout seasons two through six in 2026, the game will add things like support for Nintendo Switch 2 in season two, two new core maps, a new hero every season, post-match accolades, hero reworks, and several new Mythic skins for Soldier: 76, Ana, Illari, Mauga, and Genji.
Yeah, this big update has a lot, but as the devs showcased in the Overwatch Spotlight stream today, the franchise likely won’t be going anywhere any time soon because of it.
