The new Overwatch season is a major overhaul for Blizzard.

Season 1 of Overwatch in 2026 showcases everything Overwatch 2 should have had when it launched in 2023.

Overwatch has experienced many ups and downs in popularity over the past decade, and with the launch of Season 1, it's clear the future has never looked brighter for Blizzard's hero-shooter. Not only has Blizzard released five new characters, but they also plan to launch new seasons every two months, each featuring a new hero, new skins, and balance changes to keep the game fresh.

In retrospect, it's fair to say that the launch of Overwatch 2 was a disaster. The transition to a free-to-play online multiplayer game was plagued by a lack of foresight, coupled with the never-fulfilling promise of a PvE mode, damaging Overwatch's reputation. Worse still, Marvel Rivals launched in late 2024, setting new standards for the hero shooter genre with new character releases every two months. To put it into perspective, in less than two years, Marvel Rivals' character roster is nearly on par with Overwatch's.

In 2025, Blizzard truly made a breakthrough by focusing on the elements that made Overwatch special. The addition of perks gave players ways to quickly overcome difficult matches, the three new heroes released throughout the year received positive feedback, and the launch of Stadium mode essentially created a completely new experience. The most challenging aspect, often overlooked, was game balance, an area where Blizzard worked hard to ensure players didn't pick the same hero in every match.

With the launch of Season 1, all five new characters have the potential to change the meta, and their simultaneous release means we'll see immediate changes in the coming month.

Season 1 of Overwatch showcased everything Overwatch 2 should have been when it launched in 2023. The message was clear: Overwatch is a well-balanced PvP shooter with major updates released every two months. The drastic changes in 2025 proved that Overwatch truly was back, and this latest season unmistakably reinforces that message with the wider gaming community as it kicked off the new year impressively.