What you need to know
- Overwatch 2's newest hero, Mauga, was announced officially during BlizzCon 2023.
- Mauga is a tank that wields dual chainguns, one of which burns enemies while the other does critical damage to burning enemies. He also has a charge ability, a self-heal, and an Ultimate that traps foes in a cage with him while he has infinite ammo.
- Mauga is coming to Overwatch 2 in Season 8, with a new damage hero Venture and a support codenamed "Space Ranger" coming in Season 10 and 12, respectively. Notably, Mauga is also playable during BlizzCon weekend in all modes other than Competitive.
- Blizzard also announced a new game mode called Clash that features five control points in a row, and teams either have to capture all of them or reach a score limit to win. This mode will ship alongside Hanaoka, a remake of the classic map Hanamura made for Clash.
BlizzCon 2023 kicked off with quite a bang. Towards the start of the show, Overwatch 2 Game Director Aaron Keller and Art Director Dion Rogers introduced Mauga, the latest tank character coming to Blizzard's fan-favorite hero shooter.
Mauga, who first appeared in the Overwatch universe via a short story four years ago, is a brawny heavy gunner that wields two massive chainguns. One of these weapons ignites enemies, while the other deals critical damage to anyone that's on fire — you can see the natural synergy. He also has an Unstoppable Charge ability to help him take space, as well as Cardiac Overdrive that damages nearby foes and gives him health to help him better survive incoming fire.
Then there's Cage Fight, which is Mauga's Ultimate ability. Cage Fight traps enemies near Mauga in a large cage and gives him infinite ammo, essentially turning him into an extremely threatening raid boss with no downtime on his weapons. For a full look at Mauga gameplay, make sure you watch the official trailer below.
Mauga is coming to Overwatch 2 in Season 8, which is expected to launch on December 5, 2023. However, he'll also be playable this weekend in all modes other than Competitive as part of the BlizzCon celebration.
Notably, after Mauga was announced, Blizzard also teased the next two heroes that are expected to release in 2024. The first, a damage hero named Venture that appears to have some sort of heavy weapon, is coming in Season 10. Then, there's a new support codenamed "Space Ranger" in Season 12 (you can get a look at them here).
More upcoming content for Overwatch 2 was teased as well, including a new PvP game mode called Clash and a remake of the classic map Hanamura for said mode called Hanaoka. Clash will feature five control points in a row, and teams will either need to capture all five points or reach the mode's score limit in order to win. Notably, Clash sounds a lot like Team Fortress 2's 5CP mode if you've ever played that game.
A dedicated deep dive panel for Mauga will be held later in the day on November 3, with closer looks at Venture, Space Ranger, Clash, and Hanaoka coming during a "What's Next" panel on November 4.
