Games

Overwatch 2 Season 4: Expected start date, new Hero, map changes & more

Overwatch 2 Season 4 is almost here, so let’s take a look at the expected start date and all the content arriving in the update.

Published

2 weeks ago

March 8, 2023

Nathan Warby

Overwatch 2 Season 4 is right around the corner and it’s set to be a major content drop for Blizzard’s hero shooter. Here’s everything we know about Overwatch 2 Season 4 so far, from the expected start date to new character details.

When it arrived back in February, Overwatch 2 Season 3 was one of the biggest updates to hit the sequel so far. It brought the new Antarctic Peninsula map and the return of Credits, as well as major events like Loverwatch and the One Punch Man crossover.

But players are always looking ahead, and Overwatch 2 Season 4 is on its way to deliver even more fresh content.

Here’s a breakdown of everything coming in Overwatch 2 Season 4, including a new Hero and Ranked mode changes.

Overwatch 2 Season 4 expected start date
Overwatch 2 Season 4 new Hero
Map pools removed in Overwatch 2 Season 4
Overwatch 2 Season 4 Ranked changes

Overwatch 2 Season 4 expected start date

Overwatch 2 Season 4 is expected to begin on Wednesday, April 14, 2023, as this is when the current Season Battle Pass timer is set to expire. Each OW2 season tends to last for exactly nine weeks, so this would line up with the date mentioned.

However, nothing has been confirmed by Blizzard just yet and there’s every chance that it could be delayed if the update isn’t ready. We’ll be sure to update this section as soon as we know more.

Overwatch 2 Season 4 new Hero

After the devs opted not to introduce a new Hero in Season 3, Overwatch 2 Season 4 will introduce a new face to the ever-growing roster. Little is known about this brand-new Hero, but it is confirmed that it will play a Support role.

Blizzard are clearly looking to flesh out the Support class with Overwatch 2, as the sequel added Kiriko when it launched back in October.

Moira in Overwatch 2 — Overwatch 2 is doubling down on Support Heroes.

In addition, Overwatch 2 Game Director, Aaron Keller, told NME earlier this year that the “next two Heroes” are Support characters, so there’s plenty for healers to look forward to.

Map pools removed in Overwatch 2 Season 4

While Overwatch 2 Season 4 is adding plenty of new content, it’s also doing away with a feature that’s less popular – map pools. Since the sequel was released, each season has come with a limited number of maps included in the rotation, while others are temporarily removed.

The community largely disliked the change, insisting that they wanted every map to be in the mix at the same time to keep things fresh. In a February blog post, Aaron Keller confirmed that map pools will be a thing of the past once Season 4 gets underway.

He said: “You were right. We were wrong. Map Pools are going away starting in season 4. We aimed to provide a bit of freshness each season and concentrate the number of maps that people were playing, however player sentiment around map pools was pretty low, the map roster doesn’t have enough maps where we truly need them, and the impact they had on seasonal identity was fairly low.”

Antarctica map in Overwatch — All Overwatch 2 maps will be included in Season 4.

Keller went on to say that map pools could make a return down the line if the number of maps becomes too large, but these would be more likely to refresh weekly rather than every season.

Overwatch 2 Season 4 Ranked changes

Overwatch 2’s Competitive mode will also be receiving some changes in the Season 4 update, addressing issues that the fans have had since launch.

The first of these is that players will now be shown exactly where they are ranked within an SR tier after leveling up, offering a much better idea of how close they are to slipping back down.

Another major addition that could be included is harsher penalties for those who leave Ranked matches early. At the moment, anyone who quits mid-game receives a 75% experience cut and can be banned from joining new matches for a certain length of time.

Comment from discussion blizz_winter’s comment from discussion "We’re the Overwatch 2 Hero Balance team, and in 24 hours we’ll be here to answer your questions about S3 Hero Balance and the upcoming midseason update on 7 March. Ask us Almost Anything!".

Following complaints that players were still leaving early, especially towards the end of seasons, the devs revealed they were “considering” making penalties carry over from season to season.

That was everything we know about Overwatch 2 Season 4 so far. We’re expecting more details to emerge close to the release date, so we’ll be sure to keep this page updated with any news.

In the meantime, take a look at the rest of our Overwatch 2 guides:

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment