Overwatch received its 29th hero, Ashe, at BlizzCon 2018. Overwatch head Jeff Kaplan has confirmed in an interview that even the next six heroes are already planned.
Heroes for several years: In an interview with Eurogamer, Jeff Kaplan talked about the upcoming heroes in Overwatch. Six more are already in planning, which means “years” (of content) for Overwatch.
Which new heroes are coming?
We already know one hero: In the new cinematic “Old Friends”, the hero McCree meets three characters who have already been named:
- Ashe
- Bob
- Echo
Ashe has already been introduced as the new heroine along with her abilities at BlizzCon and could even be played by attendees. Bob, on the other hand, is already known as Ashe’s ultimate, so he is excluded as another hero.
Echo has now been confirmed as one of the next heroes. According to Kaplan, the android was among the first heroes ever planned and is even found in the first concept drawings. However, many fans still thought she was Winston’s AI, Athena.
Who else could come? During the opening ceremony of BlizzCon 2018, where the new cinematic for Overwatch was also shown, Kaplan mentioned several characters. The video also features nameless bandits from the Deadlock Gang. Kaplan specifically addressed a masked trio and one of the snipers.
Of course, this was mainly for show and to announce Ashe. At Blizzard, such less subtle and very openly hidden references happen more frequently. It’s possible that the gangsters might yet receive names.
For BlizzCon 2018, Blizzard also presented some earlier concepts, including the increasingly popular “Jetpack Cat.” This was even briefly mentioned by lead story writer Michael Chu in the voice actor panel. There are also possible other heroes in these.
When are the new heroes coming? According to Kaplan, there is no precise schedule, other than that the six heroes mean “years” for us [Overwatch]. Although Echo has been confirmed as one of the upcoming heroes, she is not the next hero after Ashe.
Ashe, on the other hand, is set to appear soon on the PTR. Kaplan also hinted at the timeline of the evening of Monday, November 5th (our time).
Even though new heroes are coming, less will be done to existing ones. Blizzard wants to do fewer reworks and eventually stop them altogether.
