Overwatch 2 will be making a controversial change to how players unlock new heroes, as they will now be featured on the free track of the Battle Pass. Overwatch 2, like the original Overwatch before it, will be adding new heroes to keep things fresh. When Overwatch 2 launches in early access on October 4, fans of Blizzard's hero-shooter can expect three new heroes to join the roster: Damage hero Sojourn, Tank hero Junker Queen, and a new Support hero who has yet to be revealed in an official capacity.
Recently, information on the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass leaked online, revealing that new heroes will have to be unlocked through Battle Pass progression. Some fans were worried that this meant they would have to buy the premium Battle Pass to unlock new Overwatch 2 heroes, but then Jon Spector of Blizzard took to Twitter to clear some things up. According to Spector, it's true that new Overwatch 2 heroes will have to be unlocked through the Battle Pass, but they will be available as part of the free track, not the premium Battle Pass.
Outside of Halo Infinite, the vast majority of games that utilize a Battle Pass system make it so the Battle Passes and their associated content are only available for a limited time. If players fail to complete a Battle Pass during the season they're available, they're locked out of that content forever. Understandably, this had some Overwatch fans worried that they would potentially miss out on unlocking some of the new Overwatch 2 heroes if they aren't playing the game at the time their Battle Pass launches. Spector responded to one Twitter user who asked about that, saying, "We will have free paths to get new heroes in future seasons too." This seems to suggest that new heroes will regularly be available to unlock regardless if one misses their initial Battle Pass, but it's vague enough that some fans still think that they will potentially miss out on unlocking new heroes if they're not playing the game all the time.
More information on the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass will be shared in the weeks ahead, and with the game's launch less than a month away, fans should expect more information on that front sooner rather than later. It's possible that this will wind up being a non-issue and fans will never be locked out of getting the new heroes, but there are still those concerned about making players unlock new heroes at all.
Since the original Overwatch launched in 2016, players have been given new heroes completely free and right away. This ensured that everyone always had access to the same pool of Overwatch heroes, making the games fair. This is especially important for Overwatch Competitive Play, as some players having access to more heroes than others could potentially give that team an unfair advantage. It's possible Overwatch 2 will somehow avoid this pitfall, but it's unclear how. Fans will want to wait for official information on the Battle Pass and new characters before getting too upset.
Overwatch 2 launches in early access on October 4 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.