Overwatch 2 has a various roster of characters from completely different areas world wide, spanning throughout the three in-game roles of Tank, DPS, and Help. This roster of lovable characters is without doubt one of the most vital features of the sport to followers, which makes new hero additions much more thrilling and vital. As we head into 2026, followers are beginning to surprise what the yr might convey when it comes to new playable heroes (and villains), with alternatives for long-time names within the lore and previous ideas to make a revival. With out additional ado, listed below are ten characters from the Overwatch lore that might make good playable character additions in 2026.
Emre Sarioglu
Emre is a Turkish soldier who joined Overwatch following the Omnic Disaster, being the primary high-profile recruit to affix the group. Notably, he’s included in a photograph from Overwatch’s previous that options different core members resembling Reinhardt, younger Pharah, Ana, Soldier: 76, Gabriel (aka Reaper), Torbjorn, Mercy, Cassidy, and Sojourn. As of Sojourn’s launch in early OW2, this leaves Emre because the final core member from this photograph to haven’t made it to the in-game roster…but.
That’s to not say that we gained’t ever see Emre in Overwatch 2, although. In actual fact, latest seasons of the sport appear to level within the different path, with new lore entries and different characters being launched with hyperlinks to his character. Most notably, Freja, who launched on DPS in Season 16, has a connection to Emre. He was talked about in her origin story, as Freja used to work as an Overwatch SAR operative, however in the end discovered a brand new function as a bounty hunter following the collapse of the group. Nonetheless, it was additionally revealed in Freja’s hero trailer, “The Hunt Begins’ that Emre, for no matter cause, is one in every of her bounty targets – having been contracted by Maximilien. Contemplating subsequent to nothing is understood about Emre apart from a couple of voicelines shared by different characters and the one iconic photograph followers know nicely by now, there’s lastly the potential to study extra about this hero. Plus, attending to see some sort of comedian or cinematic battle between Freja and Emre as they dive deeper into their previous ties to Overwatch can be one heck of a approach to get followers hyped for his character.
Anran Ye
Anran is the sister of the latest Overwatch 2 Help hero addition, Wuyang. When Wuyang dropped, the brand new location of Wuxing College was revealed as a part of his lore. This location is a novel faculty during which college students go to check elemental powers. Whereas Wuyang confronted troubles in his research and ended up on a unique path to his household within the Water Faculty, his sister Anran continues the household Hearth Faculty legacy. The 2 have been seen to have just a little little bit of a hiccup of their relationship. However in the end, Anran noticed Wuyang in a brand new gentle when he used his Water Faculty powers (that are historically medicinal, not combative) to save lots of her in battle.
Anran would truthfully be such a enjoyable addition to the roster, probably below the DPS function. With the ability to wield elemental hearth as a part of her package would really feel flashy and contemporary to play, and there’s a lot alternative to study extra about Wuxing, as apparently the basic powers studied there are usually not a supply of ‘magic’, however one thing else totally. Plus, it will simply be nice to have one other set of siblings on the roster, apart from Hanzo and Genji. They even share slight Zuko and Azula vibes of their personalities and traits…simply way more healthful, and far much less loopy.
Curiously, evidently out of all characters on the listing, Anran often is the one we doubtlessly see first. Posts created by long-time trusted Overwatch 2 supply on Twitter, OWCavalry, have hinted in the direction of voice strains associated to/for Anran being leaked for the sport. Particularly, there was an occasion of an Echo voiceline for her personal Final, which copies the Ultimates of different heroes and yells out their particular voicelines. The road “scorch the sky!” definitely appears to be becoming for Anran over everybody else, which seems to be good for these hoping to see her quickly.
D.Mon
Yuna Lee, in any other case referred to as D.Mon, is without doubt one of the MEKA squad members, identified for being powerful and protecting of her group. She additionally has a private connection to D.Va, having beforehand been on the identical esports group, with their matching MEKA handles, D.Va and D.Mon reflecting this dynamic. If yet one more member of the squad have been to affix the OW2 roster, D.Mon is the proper selection. There can be a lot potential for enjoyable voice strains with D.Va, and her mech, ‘Beast’, has a very fascinating design that might match into nearly any roster function with a few tweaks.
Most importantly, the Beast has a sword and defend much like these of a paladin. This hints that D.Mon and the Beast can be an ideal secondary Tank MEKA character addition alongside D.Va. Nonetheless, as OW2 has principally moved away from 6v6 and runs a single Tank in 5v5, this would go away loads of missed potential for hero interactions and synergy along with her buddy and comrade, Hana Track. Maybe D.Mon may very well be a enjoyable shock addition to the DPS or Help roles, as both a brawly mech healer much like Brigitte, or a defensive DPS that converts injury taken into amplified injury dealt, in some way.
MEKA – Overlord, On line casino, or King
If D.Mon finally ends up being added to the sport, that might open up the likelihood for the remainder of the MEKA squad to finally make their approach to the roster, too. For a lot of followers, this could be the dream state of affairs, as MEKA’s Overlord, On line casino, and King have all been comparatively common characters within the lore, regardless of not having an amazing variety of appearances or story beats.
With 5 completely different members within the squad, there’s undoubtedly room to have MEKA squad members throughout all three sport roles (Tank, DPS, Help). This might imply that hypothetically, someday, followers might run an entire MEKA group comp, too, offered the break up ended up being 1 Tank (D.vA), 2 DPS, and a couple of Help. D.Mon, Overlord, On line casino, and King all have actually fascinating and distinctive MEKA designs, too, so there can be the potential to implement every kind of various playstyles and talents via their kits. With MEKA, there are almost limitless prospects and potential, which has helped maintain them on the prime as a few of the hottest characters from the lore.
Boomslang
With the addition of Hazard on OW2’s Tank roster, a brand new group referred to as the ‘Phreaks’ emerged. Boomslang is one in every of these Phreaks and a core member of the crew that continues to be near Hazard. Whereas she hasn’t been round so long as others, Boomslang has some wonderful design components and a really cool codename (shared with a extremely toxic snake from South Africa). Not solely might Boomslang fill the spot as a brand new South African hero addition, however there’s additionally potential to play with that snake idea with the remainder of her package – maybe making her a flashy fight help or DPS that applies poisons to enemies.
Within the Hazardous Ways animated quick, Boomslang is seen wielding a gun with inexperienced modifications/decals that match the physique modifications seen on her legs and ankles. This additional factors in the direction of the potential for her becoming right into a DPS function, using distinctive modified weapons in her package. With the tubing/physique modifications being tinted gradient inexperienced/yellow, there’s additionally a risk that Boomslang fairly actually circulates some sort of venom/poisonous substance via her physique, and makes use of this to energy her weapons.
Jetpack Cat – Mitzi
Jetpack Cat is without doubt one of the most iconic and common fan-favorite character ideas within the Overwatch universe. Along with this, the character is the results of a beforehand scrapped hero idea, so there’s all the time the potential that this may very well be revisited and tweaked as a future addition for OW2.
Jetpack Cat has some very wacky and endearing lore. Torbjorn and his daughter, Brigitte, are identified to have fairly a couple of cats. One cat specifically, a white fluffy critter referred to as Mitzi, can be the chosen one, so to talk. Because it seems, younger Brigitte, as she obtained extra into her mechanical abilities, began to design customized armors for Mitzi. As you possibly can think about, this idea resulted within the fully-fledged ‘Jetpack Cat’ concept, the place Mitzi would pilot a jetpack mech with these fluffy little paws. Initially deemed ‘too loopy’ an concept even for the OW universe, there’s a probability that the robust fanbase for this character might change the course of Jetpack Cat’s destiny as a playable hero.
The Yokai – Ryota, Nobuto, or Sakura
Kiriko Kamori shortly grew to become one of the vital common OW characters up to now following her launch. Whereas she has fascinating ties to Hanzo and Genji via her background, there’s much more unexplored potential within the Yokai. The Yokai is a gang that Kiriko based with some buddies to battle again in opposition to the Hashimoto, aiming to guard their residence of Kanezaka. Not a lot is at present identified concerning the Yokai proper now, apart from what was revealed in small lore drops for Kiriko.
This leaves a lot untapped potential for the remainder of the Yokai members, resembling Sakura, Ryota, and Nobuto. There may very well be enjoyable voicelines and banter between the group members, and it will be a enjoyable approach to convey extra characters from the identical ‘faction’ or group to a number of roles. In fact, with Kiriko’s ninja abilities and her mom’s historical past of coaching others, it’s not too far-fetched to imagine that the group would inherit some robust ninja-like athletic abilities and fight prowess as they spend an prolonged time because the protectors of Kanezaka. Briefly, there’s loads of potential for various martial skills or ninja instruments to create new hero kits for each member, finally.
Maximilien
To this point, Maximilien is without doubt one of the solely ‘huge dangerous villains’ of the Overwatch universe to not at present function on the in-game roster. Maximilien is a rich Omnic and member of Talon’s internal circle, and to place issues bluntly, an absolute snake within the grass. Initially seen by the Overwatch as somebody weak and delicate who can be simple to control, Maximilien not solely managed to flee but additionally negotiated a cope with the group that concerned him betraying Doomfist. Later, he would proceed working with Doomfist when the latter broke out of jail – as if he had by no means given him up within the first place. He is a superb idea for a slimy, wealthy, evil type of villain, and together with his deep ties to the story, he can be a welcome addition to the fanbase.
Moreover, Maximilien additionally has ties with Freja, having contracted her bounty looking abilities for successful on Emre. With this newer data, evidently Maximilien could also be attempting to trace Emre down both to transform him to Talon’s facet or to take him out of the image totally. If the latter, is he attempting to select off people tied to Overwatch one after the other? If that’s the case, 2026 may very well be a very fascinating yr to see each Emre and Maximilien be a part of the roster, contemplating what number of connections they must different characters. Plus, there’s additionally a scarcity of Omnics at present out there, so he can be a pleasant change, contemplating we haven’t had an Omnic launch since Ramattra at the beginning of OW2.
Geiger
The Junkers are a very enjoyable group inside the Overwatch universe, native to Junker City. Most of the people inside this location are identified to be scrappers and tinkerers, designing robotic physique modifications and weapons out of leftover sources. Geiger is without doubt one of the few Junkers identified to exist, having taken half within the annual reckoning featured in Junker Queen’s cinematic, alongside Meri and the King.
Actually, there’s little or no identified about Geiger. Nonetheless, he simply has a very fascinating design that tends to stay with viewers. In the course of the Reckoning, Junker Queen selected to not kill Geiger, stating that she wished him by her facet when she grew to become Queen. Properly, she’s formally Junker Queen, and he or she’s been on the roster for some time now, so why not convey Geiger in to affix her facet as a loyal fighter?
Recluse
Lastly, we’ve Recluse, who’s an unused idea from the pitch assembly of Prometheus, which later grew to become Overwatch 1. Whereas some might imagine that ideas from this far again would now be irrelevant to OW2, Hazard has confirmed in any other case, as his new design originates from the idea of ‘Phreak’, who was a personality pitched on the similar Prometheus assembly.
The design of Recluse incorporates a lady with placing pink hair and additional mechanical, spider-like legs connected to her arms that she makes use of to stroll round. In line with her unique idea, Recluse’s skills included a mouth beam and a functionality to ship out spider bots – maybe the latter would perform equally to Peni Parker’s package in Marvel Rivals? Whereas there’s no approach to know if Recluse is a particular risk for the way forward for OW hero additions, she is definitely one of the vital memorable early design ideas, and one followers can be thrilled to see revived, redesigned, or reworked for OW2.
