Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller is teasing some big updates coming to the game in 2026. Overwatch 2 launched Season 18 on August 26 with some major updates and the introduction of a new hero. Keller is hoping that these types of big releases will carry over into the coming years to keep players excited about the future of Overwatch 2.
The Season 18 update introduces Wuyang to Overwatch 2, a support hero that launches controllable orbs that can help take down airborne characters, as well as a secondary fire called Restorative Stream that can heal players similar to Mercy’s Caduceus Staff. Other updates include a refresh to the Perks system and the addition of the Payload Race game mode in Stadium.
Overwatch 2 Planning Major Updates in 2026
Keller recently took his excitement for the Season 18 update of Overwatch 2 to a new Director’s Take blog, providing some insight about the future updates heading to Overwatch 2. Keller said, “We aim to kick the year off with something huge that changes the way people think about playing the game and I think we’re getting comfortable making these bigger and bigger each year.”
“When I look back at the history of our releases in Overwatch, I think we’ve been too conservative.” Keller said that the goal for Season 18 of Overwatch 2 wasn’t just to release a big update, but to level up the whole game. They’ve been testing a new model of updates since 2024 to keep the game fresh for all players. “The overall strategy that we’ve been using to guide our releases is to start every year with a huge, game-defining moment and then follow it up with a big mid-year beat.” They started testing this with the Season 9 of Overwatch 2 update. Initially, Keller said they were worried that changes to the core game would turn players away, but he feels that the Overwatch 2 community has responded positively to the changes. These bi-annual updates have continued into 2025, with Season 15 introducing Perks earlier this year.
When I look back at the history of our releases in Overwatch, I think we’ve been too conservative.
Keller hopes that players will notice the potential direction of Overwatch 2 moving into 2026. “If you watch closely over the next few months, you’ll see hints about the future of Overwatch—a future where we become less conservative and create high-impact, high-octane moments that hopefully blow your minds.”
Season 18 launched a major event inspired by Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Doncic, where players can earn up to 77 free Loot Boxes in Overwatch 2. Players can participate in various challenges to earn free in-game items. Some of the challenges are specific to Stadium, so players will need to jump into other game modes if they want to earn all 77 Loot Boxes.
Overwatch 2
6/10
- Released
-
August 10, 2023
- ESRB
-
T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence
- Engine
-
Proprietary Engine
#Overwatch #Teasing #Huge
