Two new additions to Overwatch’s cast have already been confirmed for Overwatch 2 — Sojourn and Junker Queen — and it looks like Blizzard has at least one more planned for when the game launches on October 4.
Recently, the official Overwatch 2 website was updated to say that anyone who purchases the Season 1 Premium Battle Pass will automatically unlock Kiriko, who is described as Overwatch’s newest hero. While the website has scrubbed any mention of them, someone saved it for posterity’s sake and shared a screenshot via Reddit.
A name admittedly doesn’t tell us much about Kiriko, but prior fan speculation points to them being a Support hero. This is because the other two new characters fulfill both the Damage and Tank roles (Sojourn is the former and Junker Queen the latter). This leaves the Support role as the only one without a new hero, so it would make sense for Kiriko to fill that role rather than be another Damage or Tank character.
It’s also been theorized that the next character will be fox themed. The release date trailer featured a fox spirit bounding across a map, and one of the game’s beta sessions ended with a teaser that further hinted at something fox-related. Barring any potential leaks, fans can likely expect to get a proper look at Kiriko just ahead of Overwatch 2’s launch.
There were concerns that Kiriko would be an exclusive unlock for the Premium Battle Pass given the initial wording on the website. However, Blizzard commercial leader and VP Jon Spector recently explained that new heroes in Overwatch 2 can be unlocked via the free battle pass as well. So, the Premium one just unlocks the character straight away.
As a reminder, Overwatch 2 is adopting a free-to-play model, unlike the first game. This means loot boxes are out as well, so new cosmetics and such can be acquired through an in-game shop and the battle passes instead of random chance.
