Overwatch is a team shooter set on a near-future Earth recovering from the Omnic Crisis, a war between humanity and intelligent robots. A UN-backed task force called Overwatch won that war and became a global peacekeeping force, then collapsed in scandal and was banned. The heroes you play are its former agents, its enemies and a crowd of newcomers from around the world.
Blizzard launched the original game in May 2016 and replaced it with the free-to-play Overwatch 2 in October 2022. New heroes arrive every few seasons, so the roster is a moving target. This guide covers the main story figures, then lists every hero released through 2025 by role and origin, and finishes with the factions that tie the cast together.
- Developer
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Released
- May 2016 (Overwatch 2: October 2022)
- Genre
- Team-based hero shooter
- Roles
- Tank, Damage, Support
- Roster
- 40+ heroes, growing each year
The original strike team
The heart of Overwatch's lore is the group that won the Omnic Crisis and then watched their organisation fall apart. Most of the original team are still playable, and the story keeps circling back to what they lost.
Tracer
Lena Oxton · Damage · United Kingdom
A former test pilot who was knocked out of time in a prototype aircraft accident and now stays anchored to the present with a chronal accelerator. She blinks around the map and rewinds her own position. Cheerful, brave and quick with a joke, she's the face of the series and one of its warmest characters.
- Voice
- Cara Theobold
Winston
Scientist · Tank · Horizon Lunar Colony
A genetically engineered gorilla raised by a scientist on the Moon, who later escaped to Earth and joined Overwatch. He's gentle, bookish and fond of peanut butter, and he's the one who sends out the recall that kicks off the modern story. His faith in the old team is the closest thing the game has to a central theme.
- Voice
- Crispin Freeman
Soldier: 76
Jack Morrison · Damage · United States
Overwatch's former strike commander, presumed dead after the explosion that destroyed its headquarters. He's now a masked vigilante investigating the people who brought the organisation down. He plays like a straightforward soldier, and his story is about a war hero who thinks he failed.
- Voice
- Fred Tatasciore
Reinhardt
Reinhardt Wilhelm · Tank · Germany
An old-fashioned knight in rocket-powered armour with a giant hammer and a shield. Forced to retire because of his age, he went on fighting anyway as a wandering champion. He's loud, kind, generous with advice, and a mentor to Brigitte.
- Voice
- Darin De Paul
Mercy
Angela Ziegler · Support · Switzerland
A pioneering doctor whose nanotechnology can heal wounds and, in the game, bring teammates back to life. She joined Overwatch to help people and grew deeply uneasy with how her research was used. She's the series' moral conscience and one of its most-played supports.
- Voice
- Lucie Pohl
Ana
Ana Amari · Support · Egypt
One of Overwatch's founding members and its best sniper, who heals allies with biotic darts instead of bullets. She faked her death after an injury and stayed in hiding for years. Her daughter Pharah grew up believing she was gone.
- Voice
- Aysha Selim
Zarya
Aleksandra Zaryanova · Tank · Russia
A champion weightlifter who gave up competing to defend her country when omnics attacked. She uses a particle cannon that grows stronger as her barriers absorb damage. She's fiercely patriotic and slow to trust omnics.
- Voice
- Dolia Gavanski
Pharah
Fareeha Amari · Damage · Egypt
Ana's daughter, a security officer who flies a rocket-equipped combat suit. She always wanted to join Overwatch, and her mother's apparent death is the wound that shapes her. Her relationship with Ana is one of the lore's emotional threads.
Blackwatch and the Shimada brothers
Blackwatch was Overwatch's covert-ops division, and its secrets helped bring the organisation down. Several of its former members are now on opposite sides.
Genji
Genji Shimada · Damage · Japan
The younger heir of the Shimada crime family, left for dead by his brother and rebuilt as a cyborg by Overwatch's doctors. After his time in Blackwatch, he found peace with the omnic monk Zenyatta. He's a fast, agile ninja whose story is about accepting a body he didn't choose.
- Voice
- Gaku Space
Hanzo
Hanzo Shimada · Damage · Japan
Genji's elder brother, an archer who was ordered by the clan to kill his brother and spent years believing he had. The animated short "Dragons" tells what happened when they met again. He's proud, disciplined and slowly learning to accept that Genji forgave him.
- Voice
- Paul Nakauchi
Cassidy
Cole Cassidy · Damage · United States
A former outlaw from the Deadlock gang who was recruited into Blackwatch instead of going to prison. Now he's a gunslinger for hire with a strong sense of right and wrong. He was originally named McCree and was renamed in 2021.
Talon and the villains
Talon is a terrorist group that believes conflict makes humanity stronger, and it works to start a new war between humans and omnics. Its members are some of the most popular characters in the game.
Reaper
Gabriel Reyes · Damage · United States
Blackwatch's former commander, once Jack Morrison's friend and rival, now a wraith-like mercenary who drains life from his enemies. An experiment gone wrong left his body constantly dying and regenerating. He wants revenge on the people who built Overwatch, including himself.
- Voice
- Keith Ferguson
Widowmaker
Amélie Lacroix · Damage · France
A ballet dancer kidnapped by Talon, brainwashed into killing her husband, and turned into a cold sniper. Her assassination of the omnic peace leader Mondatta is the event that opens the story. Whether anything of Amélie survives is one of the lore's open questions.
- Voice
- Chloé Hollings
Doomfist
Akande Ogundimu · Tank · Nigeria
A martial artist with a giant cybernetic gauntlet who believes conflict is how humanity evolves. He's a leader in Talon and the third person to take the Doomfist title. He moved from damage to tank in Overwatch 2.
Moira
Moira O'Deorain · Support · Ireland
A brilliant geneticist whose research was considered too unethical for mainstream science. She worked with Blackwatch and now serves Talon's council, chasing her experiments wherever they lead. She's the closest thing to a mad scientist in the cast.
- Voice
- Genevieve O'Reilly
Sombra
Hacker · Damage · Mexico
A hacker who grew up in the aftermath of the Omnic Crisis and now plays every side against each other. She worked for Talon but follows her own agenda and keeps leaking secrets. She can turn invisible and shut down enemy abilities.
- Voice
- Carolina Ravassa
Mauga
Tank · Samoa
A huge, cheerful Talon enforcer who carries two chainguns and treats fighting like a party. He was once close to Baptiste, who left Talon, which makes their meetings complicated.
Ramattra
Omnic · Tank · Null Sector
The leader of Null Sector, an omnic who once studied peace alongside Zenyatta and gave up on it. He believes omnics will never be safe while humans hold power. He's the most fully realised villain of the Overwatch 2 era.
Newer heroes worth knowing
Overwatch 2 added a wave of heroes with their own corners of the world. A few have become central to the current story.
Kiriko
Kiriko Kamori · Support · Japan
A young shrine guardian from Kanezaka who heals with ofuda talismans and teleports to allies. She's quick-witted, a little mischievous and fiercely protective of her town.
Junker Queen
Odessa Stone · Tank · Australia
The ruler of Junkertown, who won her crown by force in the outback wasteland. She's loud, brutal and good at pep talks.
Sojourn
Vivian Chase · Damage · Canada
A former Overwatch captain with a railgun and cybernetic legs. She's one of the agents who answers Winston's recall.
Lifeweaver
Niran Pruksamanee · Support · Thailand
A biotech scientist from a wealthy family who walked away from his work when he learned it was being turned into weapons. He grows platforms and pulls allies to safety.
Illari
Support · Peru
A young Inti Warrior with solar powers and a painful past she keeps to herself. She heals with a sun-charged rifle and pylon.
Venture
Archaeologist · Damage
An enthusiastic explorer who digs underground with a drill. Venture is non-binary and works with the Wayfinder Society.
Juno
Support · Mars
A young astronaut born and raised on Mars who brings Martian technology to Earth. She hovers on gravity boots and heals with a medi-blaster.
Hazard
Tank · Scotland
A spiky-armoured vigilante from Scotland who builds walls of jagged crystal. He arrived in late 2024.
All heroes by role and origin
This table lists the heroes released from launch through 2025. Origins are where each hero comes from in the lore; omnic heroes are listed by their group where they don't have a clear home country.
| Hero | Role | Origin | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|
| D.Va | Tank | South Korea | 2016 |
| Doomfist | Tank | Nigeria | 2017 (as damage) |
| Hazard | Tank | Scotland | 2024 |
| Junker Queen | Tank | Australia | 2022 |
| Mauga | Tank | Samoa | 2023 |
| Orisa | Tank | Numbani | 2017 |
| Ramattra | Tank | Omnic (Null Sector) | 2022 |
| Reinhardt | Tank | Germany | 2016 |
| Roadhog | Tank | Australia | 2016 |
| Sigma | Tank | Netherlands | 2019 |
| Winston | Tank | Horizon Lunar Colony | 2016 |
| Wrecking Ball | Tank | Horizon Lunar Colony | 2018 |
| Zarya | Tank | Russia | 2016 |
| Ashe | Damage | United States | 2018 |
| Bastion | Damage | Omnic | 2016 |
| Cassidy | Damage | United States | 2016 |
| Echo | Damage | United States | 2020 |
| Freja | Damage | Denmark | 2025 |
| Genji | Damage | Japan | 2016 |
| Hanzo | Damage | Japan | 2016 |
| Junkrat | Damage | Australia | 2016 |
| Mei | Damage | China | 2016 |
| Pharah | Damage | Egypt | 2016 |
| Reaper | Damage | United States | 2016 |
| Sojourn | Damage | Canada | 2022 |
| Soldier: 76 | Damage | United States | 2016 |
| Sombra | Damage | Mexico | 2016 |
| Symmetra | Damage | India | 2016 |
| Torbjörn | Damage | Sweden | 2016 |
| Tracer | Damage | United Kingdom | 2016 |
| Venture | Damage | Wayfinder Society | 2024 |
| Widowmaker | Damage | France | 2016 |
| Ana | Support | Egypt | 2016 |
| Baptiste | Support | Haiti | 2019 |
| Brigitte | Support | Sweden | 2018 |
| Illari | Support | Peru | 2023 |
| Juno | Support | Mars | 2024 |
| Kiriko | Support | Japan | 2022 |
| Lifeweaver | Support | Thailand | 2023 |
| Lúcio | Support | Brazil | 2016 |
| Mercy | Support | Switzerland | 2016 |
| Moira | Support | Ireland | 2017 |
| Wuyang | Support | China | 2025 |
| Zenyatta | Support | Omnic (Shambali) | 2016 |
Lore factions explained
Overwatch tells most of its story outside the matches, through animated shorts, comics, hero trailers and in-game voice lines. These are the groups that keep coming up.
- Overwatch — The international task force that won the Omnic Crisis. Founded with heroes like Morrison, Reyes, Ana, Reinhardt, Torbjörn and Liao, it was banned under the Petras Act. Winston's recall brings former agents (and some new ones) back together.
- Blackwatch — Overwatch's covert-ops branch under Gabriel Reyes. Genji, Cassidy and Moira passed through it, and its secret methods helped sink the whole organisation.
- Talon — A terrorist network that wants a new global war. Doomfist, Reaper, Widowmaker, Moira and Mauga are its best-known agents, and Sombra and Baptiste both left it.
- Null Sector — Militant omnics led by Ramattra who believe humanity will never accept them. Their attacks on cities around the world drive the Overwatch 2 story missions.
- The Shambali — Omnic monks who seek spiritual peace between humans and machines. Zenyatta is a Shambali monk, and their leader Mondatta was assassinated by Widowmaker.
- Vishkar Corporation — An Indian architecture company that builds utopian cities and quietly suppresses dissent. Symmetra works for them; Lúcio became famous by opposing them in Rio.
- The Junkers — Survivors of the irradiated Australian outback. Junkrat, Roadhog and Junker Queen all come from Junkertown.
Where to start
If you're new, pick a role first and then a hero who's easy to learn in it. Each role is a different job, and most players settle into one before branching out.
- Tank — Reinhardt and Orisa are forgiving starters. You lead the push and protect your team.
- Damage — Soldier: 76 and Cassidy play like a familiar shooter; Tracer and Genji reward practice.
- Support — Mercy and Lúcio let you focus on positioning before you learn to aim heals.
- Watch the shorts — "Recall", "Alive", "Dragons" and "Hero" are the quickest way into the story.
Overwatch's mix of distinct silhouettes and global origins influenced a generation of hero games. If you like its cast, try the champions of League of Legends and its animated series Arcane, or the crossover-heavy roster of Fortnite. For a closer look at why big team casts work, see our guide to ensemble casts, and for the people behind the heroes, our voice actor guide.
All Overwatch hero names A–Z
A–B
- Ana — Support
- Ashe — Damage
- Baptiste — Support
- Bastion — Damage
- Brigitte — Support
C–E
- Cassidy — Damage
- D.Va — Tank
- Doomfist — Tank
- Echo — Damage
F–I
- Freja — Damage
- Genji — Damage
- Hanzo — Damage
- Hazard — Tank
- Illari — Support
J–L
- Junker Queen — Tank
- Junkrat — Damage
- Juno — Support
- Kiriko — Support
- Lifeweaver — Support
- Lúcio — Support
M–O
- Mauga — Tank
- Mei — Damage
- Mercy — Support
- Moira — Support
- Orisa — Tank
P–R
- Pharah — Damage
- Ramattra — Tank
- Reaper — Damage
- Reinhardt — Tank
- Roadhog — Tank
S
- Sigma — Tank
- Sojourn — Damage
- Soldier: 76 — Damage
- Sombra — Damage
- Symmetra — Damage
T–Z
- Torbjörn — Damage
- Tracer — Damage
- Venture — Damage
- Widowmaker — Damage
- Winston — Tank
- Wrecking Ball — Tank
- Wuyang — Support
- Zarya — Tank
- Zenyatta — Support
Frequently asked questions
How many heroes are in Overwatch 2?
More than 40 by the end of 2025, and the number keeps rising. Blizzard adds new heroes through the seasonal updates, so any count goes out of date. The table on this page covers the roster from launch through 2025; heroes added after that aren't listed yet.
Who is the main character of Overwatch?
There isn't one, but Tracer is the closest thing to a mascot. She's front and centre in most of the game's key art and starred in its very first cinematic trailer. Winston, who recalls the disbanded team, is the closest thing the story has to a lead.
What are the three roles in Overwatch?
Tank, Damage and Support. Tanks soak up damage and lead fights, damage heroes deal the kills, and supports heal and buff their team. In Overwatch 2's standard mode each team fields one tank, two damage heroes and two supports.
Who is the villain in Overwatch?
The main villains are Talon, a terrorist organisation that wants to push the world into war. Its leading figures include Doomfist, Reaper, Widowmaker, Moira and Mauga. Null Sector, a militant omnic group led by Ramattra, is the other major threat.
Why did Overwatch get shut down in the story?
After years of scandals, including revelations about Blackwatch's covert operations, the organisation's headquarters in Switzerland was destroyed in an explosion and the United Nations passed the Petras Act, making Overwatch activity illegal. The game opens years later, when Winston sends out a recall to bring the agents back together.
Are Overwatch's heroes the same in Overwatch 2?
Yes. Overwatch 2 replaced the original game in October 2022 and kept every hero, though several were reworked. Doomfist moved from damage to tank, Orisa was redesigned, and McCree was renamed Cassidy in 2021.