Overwatch is kicking off a new era for the franchise with the launch of Season 1, beginning the year-long Reign of Talon story arc.
Fans aren’t just showing up for the new plotline, though—they’re here for new content, and Season 1 is bringing the heat. In fact, you might be hard-pressed to find a Season with more new content than this one.
Here’s everything new coming to Overwatch in Season 1.
All New Heroes In Overwatch Season 1 (2026)
There’s a whopping five new Heroes joining Overwatch with the launch of Season 1, with five more expected to release throughout 2026.
It’s a staggering amount of Heroes to release at once, and it’s something the game has never seen before. They also tie in thematically to the Reign of Talon story arc, so it should be interesting to see their stories evolve throughout the Seasons.
The five new Heroes joining Overwatch in Season 1 are:
| Hero Name | Hero Class | Hero Alignment |
|---|---|---|
| Domina | Tank | Talon |
| Emre | Damage | Talon |
| Mizuki | Support | Talon |
| Anran | Damage | Overwatch |
| Jetpack Cat | Support | Overwatch |
All New Sub-Roles In Overwatch Season 1 (2026)
Season 1 of Overwatch isn’t just adding new content, as it’s also drastically shifting the core roles of the game. Tanks, Damage, and Support Heroes are now divided into sub-roles.
These changes add further depth to each Hero, and fundamentally shift how the game is played. There are 10 sub-roles in total, and they are all listed below, along with their passives and available Heroes.
| Class | Sub-Role | Sub-Role Passive | Viable Heroes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tank | Bruiser | Reduces critical damage received. While at critical health, gain movement speed. | Mauga Orisa Roadhog Zarya |
| Tank | Initiator | Staying airborne lightly heals you. | D. Va Doomfist Winston Wrecking Ball |
| Tank | Stalwart | Reduces knockbacks and slows received. | Domina Hazard Junker Queen Ramattra Reinhardt Sigma |
| Damage | Sharpshooter | Critical hits reduce your movement ability cooldowns. | Ashe Cassidy Hanzo Sojourn Widowmaker |
| Damage | Flanker | Health packs restore more health. | Anran Genji Reaper Tracer Vendetta Venture |
| Damage | Specialist | Eliminating an enemy briefly increases your reload speed. | Bastion Emre Junkrat Mei Soldier. 76 Symmetra Torbjorn |
| Damage | Recon | You detect enemies below half health through walls after damaging them. | Echo Freja Pharah Sombra |
| Support | Tactician | You can gain excess ultimate charge, which carries over after using your ultimate ability. | Ana Baptiste Jetpack Cat Lucio Zenyatta |
| Support | Medic | Healing allies with your weapon also heals you. | Kiriko Lifeweaver Mercy Moira |
| Support | Survivor | Using a movement ability activates passive health regeneration. | Brigitte Illari Juno Mizuki Wuyang |
Everything Else Announced For Overwatch Season 1 (2026)
Aside from new Heroes and sub-roles, there’s still plenty more on the way in Season 1, including a Conquest Meta Event, as well as Stadium updates.
Every other piece of content coming to Overwatch during Season 1 includes:
- Conquest Meta Event, a five-week meta event full of rewards
- Competitive Year Update
- UI/UX Refreshes, including a 3D lobby
- System Updates, including new Praise feature
- Multiple Stadium changes, including refreshed UI and Hero Builder
- Hello Kitty x Overwatch Collab, from February 10 to February 23
It’s going to be a busy start to Overwatch’s new era. Are you excited? Share your thoughts in the official Insider Gaming Discord Server.
For more Overwatch content, check out the full 2026 roadmap.
