A snapshot of Overwatch gameplay.Source: Blizzard Entertainment

What you need to know

  • Blizzard Entertainment posted a lore drop on Twitter that hints to the next Overwatch hero.
  • The most likely candidate for who the hero is is Athena, based on the information in the post.
  • The post describes an "Athena prototype" artificial intelligence, similar to omnics.
  • The hero may also be Echo, although this is arguably less likely.

Overwatch developer Blizzard Entertainment posted a special lore drop on Twitter that likely hints towards the next hero based on how previous lore posts such as this one related to new heroes in the game. The piece of lore is a recovered file from Dr. Mina Liao, one of the six founding members of the Overwatch task force. The full contents of the file can be read on Blizzard's post:

The contents of the post indicate that it was written during the height of Overwatch's prominence in the international community, and that Liao had worked on a special "Athena prototype" that was an artificial intelligence, similar to omnics. Considering Athena is an artificial intelligence that assists Winston in the current day timeline of Overwatch, it's likely that she may be able to participate in combat in a way we haven't seen yet. The prototype mentioned in this lore may be some sort of chassis that Athena can put herself in for this purpose.

Related: Our guide to the differences between Overwatch and Overwatch 2

Another possibility (although one that's arguably less likely) is that the next hero will be Echo, who was most recently seen in the Overwatch 2 cinematic trailer. Many community members have speculated that Echo is connected to Athena in some way since they both are artificial intelligences, but the fact that Echo's name was revealed alongside the upcoming Overwatch 2 hero Sojourn makes me think that she'll be one of the heroes that comes when Overwatch 2 does. However, it would make sense if it was Echo, given that the trailer for Overwatch 2 highlighted her ability to fight. Ultimately, we'll just have to wait and see who this "Athena prototype" is.

Overwatch 2 doesn't have a release date yet, but you can get the first Overwatch now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

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