Season 18 of Overwatch 2 launches on 26 August, Blizzard has announced.
It’s looking like a bumper season in terms of additions, so let’s dive right into the highlights:
New Support Hero
Let’s start with the thing everyone is most interested in: the new hero. Wuyang is an aquatic prodigy and the latest support hero to join the cast of Overwatch 2.
He was available for a limited time recently and he seems like a lot of fun to play. He deals surprisingly large amounts of damage with orbs that he can guide once fired, while Guardian Wave allows him to knock enemies backwards while healing flows over allies. As a support he’s got access to multiple healing abilities, including Restorative Stream which functions more like Mercy’s staff, and Rushing Torrent lets him zip around the map on a wave. His ult lets him empower himself or a teammate with overhealth and after a few moments it explodes, pushing back enemies. There’s a lot of depth to his skillset and juggling damage output with healing is definitely going to be an interesting challenge.
Stadium Report
Shake up your team comps as Winston, Brigitte, Pharah, and (later in theseason) Tracer join the Stadium Hero rotation. Quick Play Queue speeds up the action with a faster, lighter version of Stadium, bringing shorter matches, a rapid-fire economy, and Backfill & Cross Play support. Draft Mode works like your pre-game huddle, letting you counter-pick and outthink the other team before the first shots are fired.
Then push parallel payloads through checkpoints and fight to the finish line in the new Payload Race mode. Add in the Powder Keg Mine, Thames District, and Oasis Gardens new maps, an expanded Item pool (3 new items, 10 major reworks, 9 balance updates), plus Elite Rank rewards and there’s a lot of new additions to Stadium mode.
PvP Refresh & Perks Update
Season 18 will kick off with a full-system refresh that resets the Competitive landscape and updates things with over 50 new Hero-specific Perks. Every Hero gets at least one fresh Perk to play with, while updated and rebalanced options for Heroes like Lúcio, Winston, and Pharah make changes to minor and major perks alike.
And a full rank reset means everyone starts with fresh placement matches for a fair shot at their climb, backed by a soft MMR reset that tightens matchmaking from the very first game. Adjusted rank thresholds (especially in higher tiers) better reflect true skill, and tighter MMR ranges make it easier to squad up with friends in ranked. Built for experimentation, shifting strategies, and unexpected plays, this Competitive refresh sets the stage for a whole new meta.
That’s not all though. All of this is coming too:
- Not one but two new Mythic skins, with one each for Sojourn and Cassidy.
- A new battle pass including Poolside Wuyang and Lily Roadhog legendary skins
- The Cowboy Bebop collab is returning for those that missed it previously
- Summer Games are back with new updates to Lucio Ball
- Changes to SR
- Hero Progression 2.0
- Advanced Info Panel providing more info on the exact capabilities of your chosen hero
You can read more about the new season on the Overwatch blog, and you can see the trailer here:
Overwatch 2 Season 18 kicks off on 26 August.
