Summary
- Overwatch 2 reveals early concept art for Juno, showcasing significant design changes from initial ideas.
- Juno, a new support hero, underwent alterations in hair, weapon, and suit design before the final version.
- Fans react positively to the behind-the-scenes look at Juno's design process, awaiting the arrival of the final hero in 2024.
Overwatch 2 just revealed some more early concept art for Juno that shows a very different version of the Martian support hero than players received. According to these Overwatch 2 images, Juno’s hair, weapon, suit design, and even color scheme all went through a lot of iteration to get to where they are now.
Juno is the most recent character added in Overwatch 2, as well as the first support and second overall hero to be added in 2024. First introduced at BlizzCon 2023 under her codename of "Space Ranger," Juno is the optimistic daughter of Mei’s old friend Jiayi, the first natural-born Martian in the Overwatch 2 story, and a healer who uses anti-grav technology to zip around the battlefield.
Overwatch 2 Surprises Players With More Juno Backstory
Overwatch 2 delights players with a charming new chunk of backstory for Juno in the form of something fans haven't seen in almost a year.
However, the Juno fans see in Overwatch 2 now is quite different from some of her early concepts. In a recent behind-the-scenes blog post, Overwatch 2 concept artist Daryl Tan and lead narrative designer Miranda Moyer shared images of early iterations of Juno, as well as some insights into her design. While her Pulsar Torpedoes, helmet, and gravity boots all persisted in some capacity throughout, elements of her design changed drastically before finally settling on the final version.
Concept Art for 'Space Ranger' Juno in Overwatch 2
The free-floating drones that fire Juno’s Pulsar Torpedoes went through several iterations, with some being connected via retractable arms. Likewise, her helmet and suit had multiple different designs, and the various hairstyles and facial expressions she nearly had gave off intense, confident, and collected vibes – all rather different from the heroic-yet-anxious hero seen in the game. Most notably, Juno’s Mediblaster in Overwatch 2 went through a lot of different versions, ranging from a long rifle to an arm-mounted “star shard cannon” that looks like it came straight out of Metroid.
Needless to say, fans loved seeing these behind-the-scenes looks at Juno. If the abundance of fan art of Juno from Overwatch 2 is any indication, the charming hero has been popular among players, and getting a look at the design process behind her has only endeared them to her even more. That said, some fans actually like some of the scrapped concepts for Juno even more than the ones that made it into the game, and were sad to see them left on the cutting room floor.
Either way, Juno won’t be the newest character in Overwatch 2 for long. The third and final hero coming to Overwatch 2 in 2024 will arrive in Season 14, which is expected to arrive in mid-to-late December, and while there isn’t much known about them quite yet, players have already begun speculating as to who this mysterious character might be.
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WHERE TO PLAY
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.
