Overwatch boasts a massive cast of twenty-one playable heroes and villains, but that doesn’t mean Blizzard is done announcing new characters for the popular shooter.
Polygon reports that yesterday the Overwatch Twitter account tweeted an image which may reveal the next hero to join the game.
In the image, we see what looks like a schematic for a new sniper sent to a J. Morrison, Jack Morrison aka Soldier 76 and a G. Reyes, Gabriel Reyes aka Reaper. The message was sent by the character Torbjörn, who also designed the weapon. In the message, Torbjörn says that the weapon uses tech from Mercy’s healing staff and says that the rifle is intended for healing.
As discussed, this is the proposed rifle that could be equipped by medics in the field. Despite what my esteemed colleague will surely suggest, the application of her biotic technology is only intended to be used for healing.
Mercy, however, said that while the sniper rifle may be intended for healing, and only meant for that purpose, it could just as easily be used to harm. This could hint to an alternate firing mode for the weapon, giving players the option to heal or harm from a distance.
While Torbjörn has, as ever, put forth a very clever design for his latest weapon. I would like to remind everyone that my intention…was to save the lives of Overwatch agents and others in need of medical aid…It is clear to me that we are on the slippery slope to modifications that will inevitably result in a weaponized version of this technology…
It’s still unknown who will be using the gun, but a Brazilian version of the tweet might have confirmed a popular fan theory that has been floating around since the game launched.
The tweet is nearly identical, except for one important addition. The Brazilian tweet shows an A. Amari was also sent a copy of the message. As Polygon said in the article, this could be a reference to an Ana Amari, the mother of the rocket launcher wielding Pharah. The theory is that she could be a mysterious Overwatch character named Sombra. Which makes sense seeing as both Sombra and Ana are expert snipers.
There have been hints to this theory in-game with one of Reaper’s lines being “Where’s Sombra when you need her?”. Sombra has also been hinted at in the map Dorado. In the video by Unit Lost, which you can check out below, the narrator goes through all of the different references to the character littered throughout the map.
Regardless as to who the hero is, what is set in stone is that they will be free to all players, according to a Communtiy Update video. There is currently no release date for the new character, so check back here for any updates.