Overwatch 2’s first new hero, Sojourn, will bring a railgun, Canadian representation, and the game’s first playable Black woman hero to the game. On Thursday, Blizzard Entertainment gave Overwatch fans their first real taste of what else Sojourn will bring to the game, highlighting how she’ll add to the still-growing roster of Overwatch 2.
Sojourn joins the fight armed with more than just a rapid-firing railgun; she’s got a cool rocket-powered sliding move that will make her agile and hard to hit in fights. She’s also armed with something called the Disruptor Shot — in the gameplay video teaser above, Sojourn uses that shot in tandem with her slide-powered boost jump to harass a group of opponents. Finally, we see her Ult in action: Sojourn’s Overclock ability keeps her railgun charged, and charged shots will pierce through multiple enemies.
Here’s the official breakdown of Sojourn’s ability kit in Overwatch 2:
Rail Gun
Primary Fire: Rapid-firing projectiles that generate energy on impact
Secondary Fire: High-impact shot that consumes stored energyPower Slide
Ground slide that can cancel into a high jumpDisruptor Shot
Launch an energy shot that slow and deals damage to enemies within itUltimate: Overclock
Railgun energy auto-charges for a short duration and charged shots pierce enemies
Blizzard released a video deep dive into Sojourn’s lore on Wednesday, revealing how Vivian Chase, a member of the Canadian special forces, came to join and leave (and re-join?) the heroes of Overwatch. But for a more in-depth look at the character and her creation, read The Verge’s exclusive interview with Blizzard on Sojourn.
Overwatch 2 will go into closed beta testing on April 26 on Windows PC. Blizzard Entertainment revealed in March that the company was “decoupling” Overwatch 2’s PvE and PvP elements in an effort to get the sequel to 2016’s Overwatch out sooner. Overwatch 2 will bring with it new heroes, multiple hero reworks, new maps, a new gameplay mode called Push, and a new ping system.
In November, Blizzard Entertainment announced it was “planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV than originally envisaged,” hinting that the two titles, both announced in 2019, could slip to 2023. But with Overwatch 2 soon entering beta, it’s possible Overwatch fans could get their sequel — at least the multiplayer PvP component of it — this year instead. Blizzard has not communicated any kind of release date for Overwatch 2.
Publisher Activision Blizzard said in November it was giving the Overwatch team “extra time to complete production and continue growing their creative resources to support the titles after launch,” acknowledging turmoil and turnover at Blizzard as contributing to the game’s longer-than-expected development.
