Last summer, Blizzard revealed and released the new tank hero Sigma in Overwatch, and since then, no new characters have been released. It's been a significant stretch of time between new heroes, and Overwatch fans are growing restless. Now Blizzard is potentially teasing the release of new hero Athena, who will potentially be coming to the hero-shooter before the launch of the long-awaited Overwatch 2.
Blizzard teased the new Athena character in a post showing the "personal log of Dr. Mina Liao." The post talks about the "Athena project" being approved by Soldier: 76. The purpose of the project is to help change public perception of Omnics, especially as violence against Omnics is rising in the world of Overwatch. Considering this, it seems likely that Athena is an Omnic, though it remains to be seen what kind of class she will be in the game.
It will also be interesting to see if the Athena referenced in the file is the same as the Athena AI that's already made an appearance in Overwatch lore. Athena is the AI system that Winston uses to recall the titular Overwatch agents, and has been featured in various Overwatch media and lore since the beginning. This new post seems to imply that Athena will be getting some kind of apparatus to become a playable hero, though there are a couple of other possibilities as well.
It's possible that Dr. Mina Liao, Athena's creator, is the new playable character instead. Alternatively, this could in fact be a tease for the already-revealed new playable hero Echo. Fans have long speculated that Athena and Echo are somehow related, so maybe it will be revealed that Echo is the Athena AI in an Omnic body. Whatever the case may be, it's clear that Overwatch fans will have to wait for more information from Blizzard to be sure.
If Blizzard is teasing Echo, it seems a bit premature as the character isn't expected to join the roster until the launch of Overwatch 2. However, it's possible that Blizzard is releasing Echo early, giving fans a new hero to play while they wait for more information on the upcoming sequel.
Besides Echo, there is another new playable character that has already been confirmed. That new hero is Sojourn, who was revealed alongside Overwatch 2 and is expected to be playable in the game come the sequel's launch or some point shortly after. Just like with the Athena tease, fans will have to hang tight for more info.
Overwatch is out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.