Overwatch fans have been treated to some great news this week, as Blizzard reveals the next major event and new hero character.
Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan said that Hero 27 is far along in development, and that the new character is “very awesome” and “very needed”.
The only bad news is that Blizzard is still conducting internal testing on Hero 27, which is currently without a release date.
Perhaps it will be released for the Lunar New Year event, which will return in time for the February 16 celebration.
Last year’s event started a few days before Lunar New Year, so a February 13 launch is a possibility.
The Year of the Dog Overwatch event will be similar to 2017’s Year of the Rooster event, although Blizzard has made a number of tweaks based on fan feedback.
Kaplan also thinks fans will be pleased with the “significant” new content launching with the event.
Check out the gallery below for a look at some of the skins and unlockables that launched as part of last year’s Lunar New Year event.
And speaking of new events, Blizzard has confirmed plans to bring back the Anniversary Uprising celebration.
This year’s event promises to incorporate “some really big ideas” and will launch with new and returning items.
Blizzard is also making big changes to Competitive mode, and will release new story tidbits throughout the year.
The loot system will also receive a shake up, as Blizzard brings new items to non-event loot boxes later this month.
The news comes as Season 8 of Competitive mode launches on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
As part of the new season, Blizzard has changed the way players are paired based on Skill Ratings.
The points difference between the highest and lowest-rated players have been lowered to make games fairer.
“This change should help players at both the lower and higher limits of Skill Rating get placed with allies and against opponents of a similar skill level, which in turn should lead to more satisfying games overall,” Blizzard explains.