Summary

  • Teasers found in Overwatch 2 suggest Hero 45 could be a female gladiator coming in Season 20.
  • The gladiator hero may be a melee tank character based on the release cadence.
  • Fans speculate about the mysterious hero's silhouette and weapon design seen in Arena Victoriae.

Overwatch 2 has 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 in Overwatch 2 Season 20.

During Overwatch 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 a doodle of a sword-wielding gladiator seen in the Overwatch 2 Spotlight, and placeholder text in Brigitte’s hero page that said “Gladiators Gonna Gladiate.”

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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, a new Control map from Overwatch 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?

Judging from the shape of the weapon, this combatant is not Camilla, Titus, or Magnus – the three mechanical gladiators whose statues are located on the Colosseo map. The silhouette on the banner looks quite different from Zephyrus, one of the two gladiators who have advertisements around the same map, and while it is more similar to his competitor Maximus, the Italian definite article “La” used on the banner is associated with feminine nouns. This, plus the previous teaser hinting that Overwatch 2 might have been testing this hero's kit on Brigitte's model, suggests Hero 45 identifies as female, and is likely a completely new character.

Assuming this mysterious gladiator is Hero 45, they will almost certainly be a melee-oriented damage or tank character. Considering Overwatch 2 is 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 in Overwatch 2 right now.

Season 16, along with Stadium and the Arena Victoriae map, go live in Overwatch 2 on 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.

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Overwatch 2 Tag Page Cover Art
6 /10

Overwatch 2
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Shooter
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Systems
super greyscale 8-bit logo PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 77 /100 Critics Rec: 65%
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Released
August 10, 2023
ESRB
T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence
Developer(s)
Blizzard
Publisher(s)
Blizzard
Engine
Proprietary Engine
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play
PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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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.

Cross Save
yes
Franchise
Overwatch
Steam Deck Compatibility
n/a
Early Access Release
October 4, 2022
PC Release Date
August 10, 2023
Xbox Series X|S Release Date
August 10, 2023
PS5 Release Date
August 10, 2023
Nintendo Switch Release Date
August 10, 2023
Genre(s)
Shooter
Platform(s)
PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Switch, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, PC
OpenCritic Rating
Strong
How Long To Beat
35 hours
X|S Optimized
n/a