One of the biggest things that separates Overwatch 2 from the original Overwatch experience is that Blizzard has committed to supporting it with consistent seasonal updates. Every nine weeks, players can expect a fresh wave of content that includes new heroes, maps, or game modes, as well as a brand new Battle Pass to progress through and lots of cosmetic goodies for a variety of the game’s heroes.
Soon, the game’s first season will end, and when it does, Overwatch 2 Season 2 will kick off. Recently, Blizzard gave fans a closer look at everything they can expect from the new season, including its gameplay offerings, new skins, balance changes, and other additions. In this high-level overview of Season 2, we’ll go over all of these details and more, including the season’s release date.
Overwatch 2 Season 2: Release date and launch time
Blizzard has confirmed that Overwatch 2’s second season is slated to release on December 6, 2022. This means that, at the time of writing, players will only have to wait about a week until Season 2 and everything it has to offer are available in-game.
With that said, something we don’t know for sure is when the Season 2 update is launching on that day. It’s very likely that it will release at 12:00 p.m. PT since this is Overwatch 2’s weekly reset time, but ultimately, we won’t know anything concrete until Blizzard shares more information.
Since it’s likely that Overwatch 2’s weekly reset time will be when the Season 2 rollout is scheduled to occur, we’ve compiled a full list of expected launch times and dates for all major timezones in the table below. Note that while most players around the world will get access to Season 2 on December 6, some folks in eastern regions may have to wait until the morning of December 7.
| Timezone | Expected release time |
|---|---|
| Pacific Time (PT) | Dec. 6, 12:00 p.m. |
| Mountain Time (MT) | Dec. 6, 1:00 p.m. |
| Central Time (CT) | Dec. 6, 2:00 p.m. |
| Eastern Time (ET) | Dec. 6, 3:00 p.m. |
| Brasilia Time (BRT) | Dec. 6, 4:00 p.m. |
| Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) | Dec. 6, 7:00 p.m. |
| British Summer Time (BST) | Dec. 6, 8:00 p.m. |
| Central European Summer Time (CEST) | Dec. 6, 9:00 p.m. |
| Moscow Time (MSK) | Dec. 6, 10:00 p.m. |
| Gulf Standard Time (GST) | Dec. 6, 11:00 p.m. |
| Indian Standard Time (IST) | Dec. 7, 12:30 a.m. |
| Singapore Standard Time (SNST) | Dec. 7, 3:00 a.m. |
| China Standard Time (CST) | Dec. 7, 3:00 a.m. |
| Japan Standard Time (JST) | Dec. 7, 4:00 a.m. |
| Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) | Dec. 7, 5:00 a.m. |
| New Zealand Standard Time (NZST) | Dec. 7, 8:00 a.m. |
Overwatch 2 Season 2: Roadmap
The roadmap above provides a quick overview of what’s coming in Season 2, while also highlighting when events are planned to go live throughout the season. Notably, Overwatch 2 Season 2 will have three special events, including the following:
- Winter Wonderland: Dec. 13, 2022 – Jan. 4, 2023
- Battle for Olympus: Jan. 5, 2023 – Jan. 19, 2023
- Year of the Rabbit: Jan. 17, 2023 – Feb. 6, 2023
Overwatch 2 Season 2: Battle Pass skins, rewards, and price
While we don’t know much specific information about the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass that will be available in Season 2, Blizzard has revealed some details about its theming and contents ahead of its arrival. Specifically, we know that the Season 2 Battle Pass will be themed around Greek mythology, so players can expect plenty of voice lines, sprays, souvenirs, skins, and more that draw inspiration from iconic Ancient Greek folklore. If Season 1’s Battle Pass is anything to go by, Season 2’s will also feature a collection of items that don’t follow the overall theme, spicing up the pass with some variety. The pass will also have split free and Premium reward tracks, with the Premium Battle Pass costing 1,000 Overwatch Coins — the equivalent of $10.
Progressing through the Battle Pass will also be how players unlock Overwatch 2 Season 2’s new tank hero, Ramattra. Free-to-play players will unlock Ramattra on Tier 55, while Premium Battle Pass owners will get access to him instantly.
The highlights of the Battle Pass are two of its Legendary skins, Hades Pharah and Poseidon Ramattra, as well as the new Zeus Junker Queen Mythic skin. All three of these skins can be seen in the image at the top of the article, though we’ll also go into more detail about Zeus Junker Queen below.
New Mythic skin: Zeus Junker Queen
Like the Mythic Cyber Demon Genji skin before it, Zeus Junker Queen will be the final reward on the Battle Pass, available to players that purchase the Premium Battle Pass and reach Tier 80 by completing matches and finishing gameplay challenges. The default version of the skin is primarily white and yellow with some brown accents, though based on what we’ve seen of the skin so far, it looks like players will be able to make it look black and red with pink accents, or blue with light blue accents. Various pieces of the skin’s armor can be swapped around for alternative choices as well, giving fans plenty of customization options.
Other Overwatch 2 Season 2 new skins
Image 1 of 2
In addition to the skins mentioned above, several other Greek mythology-inspired skins will also be available from the Overwatch 2 Shop during Overwatch 2 Season 2. These include Minotaur Reinhardt, Cyclops Roadhog, Medusa Widowmaker, Hermes Lucio, and potentially more.
Overwatch 2 Season 2: New tank hero Ramattra
One of the most exciting things about Overwatch 2 Season 2 is that it’s introducing Ramattra, the leader of Null Sector and the game’s next tank hero. Labeled as a “tempo tank” by Blizzard developers, Ramattra’s ability to swap between two different forms will likely make him one of the most versatile and dynamic characters on the battlefield.
We have an in-depth Ramattra hero guide that goes into every detail we know about the character, so in this article, we’ll summarize his kit. With his Void Accelerator in Omnic Form, Ramattra will be able to harass opponents from afar with streams of projectiles and create a durable barrier for his teammates at a targeted location. Once he swaps into Nemesis Form, however, Ramattra will grow larger, gain an extra 150 Armor health, and will swap out his Void Accelerator for piercing punch attacks and a block ability that allows him to significantly reduce incoming damage while sacrificing movement speed.
At any time while he’s in Omnic Form or Nemesis Form, Ramattra can shoot a Ravenous Vortex projectile at his opponents. Enemies caught in the area-of-effect of this ability will be damaged, slowed, and pulled to the ground if they’re jumping or airborne, making it difficult for them to escape. Finally, there’s Ramattra’s Annihilation Ultimate. When activated, this ability creates a swarm of nanobots around Ramattra that automatically leech onto nearby opponents, damaging them and reducing their damage by 50%. This Ultimate won’t wear off while the nanobots are targeting someone, so Annihilation will last until Ramattra dies or the enemies he’s fighting do.
Overwatch 2 Season 2: New map Shambali Monastery
Image 1 of 3
Overwatch 2 Season 2 is also adding a new map to the game: Shambali Monastery, an Escort (also known as Payload) map set in the mountains of Nepal where both Zenyatta and Ramattra originally became monks. Based on the official images we’ve seen of the stage thus far (see above), it looks like it’s going to be a very open arena broken up by small interior areas.
As we learn more about the map’s design and checkpoints moving forward, we’ll update this article with any and all new information.
Overwatch 2 Season 2: New Battle for Olympus game mode
From Jan. 5-19, a special limited-time gameplay event called Battle for Olympus will be available. Little is known about the specifics of it at the moment, but something we do know is that several Overwatch heroes will gain unique god-like powers in the mode that match the theme of their Ancient Greek mythology skins.
For example, it looks like Roadhog’s Whole Hog Ultimate will allow him to launch large rocks at foes similar to how the Cyclops threw boulders at Odysseus’ boat in The Odyssey, and Junker Queen’s Commanding Shout will call down damaging lightning bolts that strike nearby opponents.
The mode also appears to be free-for-all in nature, rather than team-based like the rest of Overwatch 2’s game modes. Because of this, we anticipate that it will be a lot like Deathmatch, with the above mythological twists shaking things up in interesting ways.
Overwatch 2 Season 2: Balance changes
Blizzard is also implementing some balance changes in Season 2, with the most significant one being a nerf to Sojourn’s railgun that reduces how far away she can be from her enemies while still landing one-shots with a fully charged critical hit. Doomfist is also getting some buffs that will “better support his role as the team’s front line,” while also maintaining the highly aggressive and mobile playstyle that’s at the heart of his kit.
Some adjustments for Ana, Bastion, Junker Queen, Kiriko, Mercy, and Symmetra are also coming when Season 2 launches. However, it’s currently unclear what changes are being made, and it will likely stay that way until we have patch notes we can reference. Once we do, we’ll update this section with all the details.
Overwatch 2 Season 2: Trailer
The trailer below provides a close look at all of the content, cosmetics, and more coming to Overwatch 2 when Season 2 launches.
Overwatch 2 is available now on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. It’s arguably one of the best Xbox shooters available, and since it’s free-to-play, it doesn’t cost anything to check it out. Alternatively, players can purchase the Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack that provides access to a Premium Battle Pass, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and a bundle of unique Legendary skins.
