When is the next new Overwatch hero being released?

With hero 29, Ashe, having been in Overwatch for nearly three months now, hype is beginning to build around the next new addition to the game.

Blizzard have kept up a steady schedule of releasing new heroes since the launch of Overwatch, with three new heroes joining the roster each year.

It hasn’t just been the number of heroes each year that’s been consistent – the actual dates of each release have been very similar year to year. Late March, mid-to-late July, and early November – specifically, following a reveal at BlizzCon in this last case – has been the slate for ne Overwatch heroes.

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Though Blizzard have never guaranteed that they would stick to this, or any, timeline for new additions, it’s been consistent so far, which would put hero 30 on track for a release near the end of March.

Specifically, the previous two March releases – Orisa and Brigitte in 2017 and 2018 – hit the live servers on March 21 and March 20 respectively, and were each revealed almost exactly three weeks earlier, which suggests Blizzard have quite a specific timeline for this hero slot.

In both cases, the March hero was also hinted at in the run up to the full announcement, with changes in-game preceding Orisa’s arrival and ambiguous Tweets heralding the reveal of Brigitte. It seems likely, therefore, that the coming weeks could see the first hints of the new hero, with a full reveal at the start of March.

Exactly who the 30 Overwatch hero is remains entirely unknown at the current time. Blizzard have confirmed that it will not be Echo, who was seen in the “Reunion” animated short, but beyond that it’s a mystery.

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Popular theories range from the likes of Junker Queen, who has been speculated as a potential hero since the release of Junkertown, and more elaborate ideas like the theory that Talon boss Antonio could be the realization of an early Overwatch concept.

Whoever hero number 30 is, it seems very likely that Blizzard will be revealing them within a matter of weeks, and likely dropping them onto the Public Test Realm very shortly thereafter.