Next Overwatch Hero Is “Very Far Along in Development”

Overwatch Director Jeff Kaplan has revealed that the next Overwatch hero will be announced sooner than a lot of fans and players might’ve assumed.

Only a fortnight after latest hero Orisa was added to the game, Kaplan claimed that the next hero release is “very far along in development”, in a recent interview with IBTimesUK.
“We know what that hero, what the abilities are and how they interact,” Kaplan said, “so we’re at that point. The heroes past that hero are more in prototype, exploration phase but the next hero we’re pretty set on.”

This has come as a surprise to the majority of Overwatch fans and players, who were expecting more of a gap between releases, considering how new Orisa is to the game. Kaplan also explained that the response to the new “anchor tank” hero was positive, and that players were enjoying testing the waters as Orisa, and fans have been eating up the story and lore surrounding her character: “It’s been great,” he said, “We’ve seen reactions scanning the gambit, where some people are commenting on her gameplay and the uniqueness her different abilities bring to the game, and the new role she fills. And then there are a lot of people who are just responding to her as a character.”

There has been a lot of speculation about quite who (or what!) the next character will be, and fans have been guessing everything from a secret third Shimada sibling to another giant robot. So far, there haven’t been any leaks or other official word from Blizzard, so right now, hero #25 is anybody’s guess. As an educated guess, I think we might see the new hero on May 24th, which’ll be the one-year anniversary of Overwatch’s initial release.

Who do you think the new hero will be? What class would you like to see get a new hero? Let us know in the comments below!