After the announcement leaked this morning on the Nintendo Switch eShop news channel, Blizzard has confirmed that the next Overwatch 2 hero is Mauga.
Revealed during BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard shared a general trailer for the character, showing off Mauga’s weapons and abilities. As a heavy assault character, Mauga wields a number of heavy artillery weapons such as the Incendiary Chaingun and the Volatile Chaingun (affectionately nicknamed Gunny and Cha Cha).
Mauga also has an unstoppable charge move called Overrun, which sees him sprint across the battlefield. Blizzard also shared that Mauga is Overwatch’s first Samoan hero.
Several more heroes are coming to Overwatch 2 next year, and Blizzard shared some previews of what fans can expect. A new damage hero named Venture will join Overwatch 2 in Season 10, and a new support hero currently codenamed Space Ranger will arrive in Season 12.
Beyond the new characters, Blizzard detailed a new PvP game mode called Clash, revealed that the Hanamura map from the original Overwatch will return as Hanaoka in 2024, and that early 2024 will see a reworked version of the competitive system with new competitive rewards.
Polygon and Redditors reported that the eShop revealed Mauga, Overwatch 2’s next tank hero, who joins the roster of playable characters alongside Season 8 on December 5 following a preview this weekend.
For more information on everything coming out of BlizzCon 2023, check out IGN’s guide on how to watch BlizzCon 2023.
Overwatch 2 has proven to be a controversial release for Blizzard. Was The worst user-reviewed game ever seen on Steam. (it’s now the second worst), and fans are complaining about a number of issues, including Blizzard’s decision to replace the premium Overwatch with the free-to-play Overwatch 2. the controversial decision to cancel Overwatch 2’s long-awaited PvE Hero modeand aggressive monetization. During a recent financial call, publisher Activision Blizzard admitted that Overwatch 2 engagement and player investment was declining.
Now Blizzard is under pressure to convince Overwatch 2 players that the game is ready for bigger and better things.
Wesley is the UK news editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.