While Overwatch will only be getting one new hero before its sequel launches, there are plenty of potential candidates to join its growing cast. Artist Zenofy took several of its pre-established fan favorites and inserted them into the game’s menu.
In Overwatch, when a new hero debuts, they will normally stand front and center on the main menu for a good week or two to celebrate their addition.
As part of Zenofy’s “alternate” Overwatch history, he envisions a game where Jetpack Cat was added instead of Brigitte, The Junker Queen was added in place of Wrecking Ball, and instead of Ashe, players got their hands on Echo.
Amusingly, when Brigitte launched, some fans suspected Jetpack Cat could be the new hero, because the teasers Blizzard released had a few callbacks to the infamous character.
Zenofy took Beccy Collins’ art for the fighting feline and placed it on the game’s menu with Cuban map Havana in the background. As you can see, the design looks fantastic, with a weapon of sorts strapped to the jetpack and a buckle securing the cat’s airborne safety.
In an interview with Gamespot, Overwatch Director Jeff Kaplan said that when the idea for the cat hero was pitched, some people on the team felt it was “probably too far,” and the concept was scratched.
https://twitter.com/ZenofyMedia/status/1222142102663987202?s=20
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Nonetheless, the premise remained very popular, and to this day is a hero many fans want to see added to the game.
The other two heroes, Junker Queen and Echo, are likely coming to Overwatch in the future. Echo was first teased in the reunion short, and later on in the Overwatch 2 debut trailer.
According to Kaplan, the team wanted to “build her up” before releasing her. The only question is: when will she be coming, and will her release come before Overwatch 2 hits the market?
Finally, The Junker Queen was teased as recently as the 2019 Yule Log stream. “I wonder if the Queen is ever going to be a hero?” Kaplan pondered. “What would she be? She’s not going to be Support, right? That doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“Maybe she’s a tank, she could be damage, damage or a tank would be cool,” he further hinted, suggesting that the hero may be an off-tank.
Hopefully, we’ll see all three of these heroes added to the game soon – but until then, these menu mockups will have to suffice.