Summary
Overwatch 2has seemingly teased its 45th hero via a banner and a weapon display found on the new Stadium map, Arena Victoriae. These new clues corroborate several other teasers fans have found for this character, heavily suggesting the mysterious gladiator hero will arrive inOverwatch 2Season 20.
DuringOverwatch 2’s recent Spotlight event, Blizzard revealed two of the three heroes coming in 2025: Freja, a mobile damage hero releasing in Season 16, and a watery support currently codenamed “Aqua.” However, players have found multiple teasers for the third hero since then, including adoodle of a sword-wielding gladiator seen in theOverwatch 2Spotlight, and placeholder text in Brigitte’s hero page that said “Gladiators Gonna Gladiate.”
Now, fans have spotted some more teasers that heavily support Hero 45 being a melee gladiator of some kind. Players discovered two Easter eggs while playtesting Arena Victoriae, anew Control map fromOverwatch 2’s Stadium game mode: a banner with the silhouette of a gladiator wielding a high-tech sword or spear, as well as a display featuring the same weapon. Both assets are marked with XLV – the Roman numeral for 45 – but the banner also has the words “La Lupa Della Ritorsione,” which translates to “The Wolf of Retribution” or “Retaliation” in Italian. Overwatch Cavalry shared images of both of these teasers together on Twitter.
‘The Wolf of Retribution’ – Overwatch 2’s 45th Hero?
Assuming this mysterious gladiator is Hero 45, they will almost certainly be a melee-oriented damage or tank character. ConsideringOverwatch 2is getting a DPS and support in 2025 already, a tank would fit its release cadence better, especially since the damage role already has the most hero options. That said, Reinhardt is already a dedicated melee tank, and heroes like Doomfist and Hazard have significant melee aspects to their kits, while Genji is the closest thing to a melee damage hero inOverwatch 2right now.
Season 16, along with Stadium and the Arena Victoriae map,go live inOverwatch 2on April 22. Fans should be sure to check out these teasers for “The Wolf of Retribution” in-game for themselves once the game mode is live.
Overwatch 2
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Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
