Although the picture is not completely clear, we can actually look ahead to the future and take a guess about what Season 4 of Overwatch 2 will look like. With that being said, saving up your Overwatch Coins might be worth it.
Maybe Genji will be nerfed in the future or maybe a new mythic D.Va skin will be available. Although things like that are still up in the air, what we do know is that Blizzard is going to give players a reason to stay excited and look forward to even Season 4 of Overwatch.
Update on 29 March 2023 - This article was updated and checked for the latest 'Overwatch Season 4' news and leaks.
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Latest News & Leaks
In the event you needed a refresher on that new hero coming to the game in Season 4.
Season 4 STILL doesn't have an official release date (although we're expecting it to be roughly April 11), but Blizzard has announced a few broad changes coming into effect with Season 4. You can read the full blog post on the link. But we've got the main points, just down below:
- "To start, DPS Heroes lost their speed passive, and a number of flanking Heroes got nerfed. We also added survivability to Support Heroes, buffing their Role Passive as well as making changes to specific Heroes to increase their durability– Changes like Zenyatta's kick and Brigitte's shield buff are examples of this working well, while some, like Mercy’s Guardian Angel changes, we believe we overcorrected (something you’ll see addressed in Season 4). The way we went about these changes was to preserve the play style of Support while still addressing the core issues. With what we’ve learned since launch, we feel like the Support role is in a much better place now, and will continue to improve as we add two new Heroes to their ranks in Seasons 4&6"
- "Players have provided a lot of feedback on the reworked system that launched with Overwatch 2. One of the biggest issues that players bring up is how their experience has been affected by a partial rating reset at the beginning of each Competitive season. This (along with some matchmaking issues) has caused a lot of confusion in matches. Starting with Season 4 we'll be removing this reset, and players should have a much clearer picture of their rating, season-to-season."
- "Players have also asked us to provide more information to better understand what's happening as they rank, as well as to get a clearer picture of individual match performance. We've gradually been introducing features (and have more in Season 4) addressing some of these asks. Starting with Season 4, players will now see their progress toward a new rating and their win/loss record during that period. We're also looking at giving some information about the overall team skill range and balance of a particular match., At this point, we've decided to not display ratings for individual players by default."
We could start seeing teasers for the new hero joining the game in Season 4 very soon.
Overwatch 2 Season 3 is now live, and whilst that is clearly the focus for Blizzard right now, it means that next up is Season 4.
Expect plenty more updates on the new season in the coming weeks leading up to April 2023 when we imagine Season 4 will launch.
Lead Hero Designer Alec Dawson has suggested that we might see Brigitte's long overdue rework during Season 4.
On a Twitch stream, Dawson explained that it was unlikely we would see these changes in Season 3 "because these things do take some time", due in no small part to the amount of VFX and art considerations when reworking a character.
We know that Season 4 of Overwatch 2 will add a new hero and now a couple of Blizzard devs have shared some info on what to expect.
Speaking at an event in Korea, Jon Spector, Overwatch commercial leader & VP at Blizzard, stated that the next playable character will be a “stronger support hero.”
“Hero development takes a long time,” said Spector (transcription by Inven, via Overwatch Cavalry). “You have to come up with ideas from the beginning of development to the end. It starts with figuring out a concept that players can enjoy. You have to be able to get into the worldview. Proceed in a direction that can broaden the overall hero pool. Each hero role is properly harmonized and released in order. Ramattra is a season 2 charge hero, and the next hero will be a stronger support hero.”
When Does Overwatch Season 4 Release?
Blizzard has stated in the past that a season of Overwatch is around 9 weeks long. With that being said, although nothing is confirmed, Season 4 of Overwatch 2 is expected to launch around April 2023.
Assuming Season 3 lasts 64 days (like Season 1 & 2) we would expect to see Season 3 end on 11 April 2023, which is also the start day for Season 4.
Of course, this is just speculation for the time being, so make sure to check back often to see if this date has been confirmed.
Also, if it helps, you can see how long each season lasted on the below chart:
| Overwatch Season | Start Date | End Date | Duration In Days |
| Season 1 | 4 October 2022 | 6 December 2022 | 64 Days |
| Season 2 | 6 December 2022 | 7 February 2023 | 64 Days |
| Season 3 | 7 February 2023 | TBC - Likely 11 April 2023 | TBC |
| Season 4 | TBC - Likely 11 April 2023 | TBC - Likely June 2023 | TBC |
Overwatch 2 Season 4 New Hero
January 19 Update - According to Blizzard, the next two heroes in Overwatch 2 will be support heroes, the first to release in Season 4. They also confirmed that the upcoming Support Hero will bring something completely new to the Overwatch 2 roster.
Even though Overwatch 2 Season 4 will not release for a while, we still have a pretty good idea about what to expect with regard to new heroes coming to the game.
In a blog post created by Blizzard, the company confirmed the following:
"New heroes will typically come out every alternate season, except for Season One and Two, which will each feature a new hero. After that, we are planning a new hero in Season Four and Season Six."
That means we need to put our thinking hat on to work out who the 5th new hero to be added in Season 4 could be. Likely it will be one of a few names mentioned/teased in the game previously, so here are a few suspects:
- Mauga - a former friend of Baptiste seen in the 'What We Left Behind' Short.
- Maximilien - The wealthy Omnic who launders money for Talon.
- Storm Rising Omnic Ramattra - Seen at the end of the 'Storm Rising' cinematic mission and possible leader of the extremist group Null Sector. [Update - Confirmed during Overwatch League Finals to be the new hero coming to Overwatch 2 Season 2]
- D.Mon - Real name Yuna Lee. A member of the MEKA Squad alongside D.Va.
- Overlord - Real name Seung-hwa Shi. Another member of MEKA Squad alongside D.Va.
- Zephyrus - A gladiator seen in multiple posters and images around the Overwatch 2 map Colosseo.
Whilst we can't be certain who will be added in Season 4 at such an early stage, we imagine we could begin to see teasers and links as we approach the release in June 2023.
Season 4 Map Changes For Overwatch 2
Since the Artic Peninsula map was introduced, there are a lot of different maps in the game. But that does not mean that all maps are created equal. There is an abundance of map types in Overwatch 2 which means that there are certain game modes that get played more often.
Blizzard has said that that will change. There will now be map pools in Overwatch 2. What this means is that only certain maps will now appear when playing online. This is to make sure that the games for Overwatch 2 feel varied instead of an abundance of one game mode.
Overwatch 2 Season 4 Battle Pass
It's a little early to tell what we can expect in truth. With the game still in early access, there's a good chance Blizzard could tweak what sort of rewards they offer.
For now, we imagine it will be similar to the rewards offered in the game's debut Battle Pass, with a free track and a premium track with more rewards on offer.
For more on the game, check our section dedicated to Overwatch 2 news, guides, and features.
Featured image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
