Overwatch Season 1 release date, time, countdown, and details

Amy Chen

Amy Chen

Here is everything you need to know about Overwatch Season 1: Conquest! Our guide includes the release date, release time, a live countdown, all five of the new heroes and their abilities, Conquest event details, previews of the new skins, and more.

The Overwatch Spotlight event is like a gift that keeps on giving. Blizzard Entertainment not only revealed five new heroes for Overwatch Season 1, but also the subroles feature, mythics galore, a Hello Kitty collaboration, a faction-themed event, and so much more. Read on for everything to know, including the Overwatch Season 1 release date, release time, trailer, plus all of the abilities for Mizuki, Emre, Domina, Anran, and the adorable Jetpack Cat named Fika! We also provide a countdown to Overwatch Season 1.

Overwatch Season 1 countdown

Here is our countdown to Overwatch Reign of Talon - Season 1: Conquest. Since this update arrives at the same time for everyone, our countdown works no matter where you're located.

Overwatch Season 1 Countdown 2026

Overwatch Season 1 release date

Since Blizzard Entertainment dropped the "2" from the game's name, the game is now back to Season 1. The Overwatch Season 1 release date for 2026 is Feb. 10.

Overwatch Season 1 release time

Based on esports.gg's experience with Overwatch updates, Season 1's release time is also likely Feb. 10 at 11 a.m. PT. This is the same as 2 p.m. ET. Our table below has more equivalent release dates and release times as well.

Time Zone
Overwatch Season 1 2026 Release Date and Time
PT (Pacific Time)Feb. 10 at 11 a.m. PT
MT (Mountain Time)Feb. 10 at 12 p.m. MT
CT (Central Time)Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. CT
ET (Eastern Time)Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. ET
GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. GMT
CET (Central European Time)Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. CET
CST (China Standard Time)Feb. 11 at 3 a.m. CST
JST (Japan Standard Time)Feb. 11 at 4 a.m. JST
AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time)Feb. 11 at 5 a.m. AEST

Overwatch Conquest event

Here is the full trailer for Overwatch Season 1: Conquest. According to Blizzard Entertainment, Overwatch and Talon are colliding in a five-week faction war. During this Overwatch Conquest event, players can complete missions, discover new lore, and even earn faction-specific cosmetics.

"And don’t worry, you’ll be able to switch sides to see the story from both perspectives," Blizzard Entertainment added.

Overwatch Conquest event (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
Overwatch Conquest event (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

What to expect Overwatch Season 1

The Reign of Talon begins in Season 1 with five new heroes. These are Mizuki (support), Emre (DPS), Domina (tank), Anran (DPS), and Jetpack Cat (support). The season also features the aforementioned Overwatch Conquest event plus new hero subroles feature, new mythics, a rank reset, Vendetta in Stadium, Stadium's hero builder feature, and the Overwatch x Hello Kitty and Friends collaboration.

Below are previews of the five new Overwatch heroes and more.

Overwatch Season 1 beings with five new heroes (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
Overwatch Season 1 beings with five new heroes (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Overwatch Mizuki abilities

  • Spirit Glaive (Primary Fire): Throw a spinning blade that can bounce off walls, impact enemies and rapidly deal damage.
  • Healing Kasa: Throw your hat to heal an ally, bouncing to nearby allies and healing you when it returns.
  • Katashiro Return: Leap forward, leaving behind a paper doll. Reactivate to return and gain increased movement speed while active.
  • Binding Chain: Launch a tethering chain that hinders the first enemy hit.
  • Kekkai Sanctuary (Ultimate): Create a sanctuary that heals allies and absorbs enemy projectiles from outside the area.
  • Remedy Aura (Passive): Heals nearby allies. Healing scales with resources generated by dealing damage and healing.
Mizuki's kit (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
Mizuki's kit (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Overwatch Emre abilities

  • Synthetic Burst Rifle (Primary Fire): Three-round burst weapon.
  • Take Aim (Secondary Fire): Hold to zoom in, tightening accuracy and increasing fall-off range.
  • Siphon Blaster: Temporarily wield a semi-automatic pistol with life-stealing explosive rounds. Move faster and jump higher while wielded.
  • Cyber Frag: Throw a grenade that detonates shortly after bouncing.
  • Override Protocol (Ultimate): An override initiates, transforming you into a living weapon. Fires rapid explosive blasts or charged mega‑shots capable of wiping teams.
  • Altered Vitals (Passive): Passive health regeneration activates sooner and instantly restores 30 health when activated.
Emre's kit (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
Emre's kit (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Overwatch Domina abilities

  • Photon Magnum (Primary Fire): Medium-range beam that culminates in a high impact shot.
  • Barrier Array: A segmented hard‑light barrier deployed in front of Domina. Each segment must be individually destroyed, creating dynamic defensive angles.
  • Crystal Charge: Project an explosive crystal and reactivate to denotate it.
  • Sonic Repulsors: Push enemies back, stunning them if they hit a wall.
  • Panopticon (Ultimate): Fire a hard-light barrier that imprisons enemies and detonates on expiration.
  • Reconstruction (Passive): Dealing damage with abilities restores shields.
Domina's kit (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
Domina's kit (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Overwatch Anran abilities

  • Zhuque Fans (Primary Fire): Hand fans that shoot fiery projectiles.
  • Fan the Flames (Secondary Fire): Hot wind blast that amplifies burning damage.
  • Inferno Rush:Propel yourself forward and damage enemies you impact.
  • Dancing Blaze: Strike nearby enemies while dodging all damage.
  • Vermillion Ascent (Ultimate) (Alive): Charge forward, exploding on impact and instantly igniting enemies.
  • Vermillion Revival (Ultimate) (Dead): When dead, revive yourself in a fiery explosion.
  • Ignition (Passive): Hit enemies with fire attacks to burn them.
Anran's kit (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)<br>
Anran's kit (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Overwatch Jetpack Cat abilities

  • Biotic Pawjectiles (Primary Fire): Mid‑range projectile spread that heals allies and damages enemies.
  • Lifeline: Toggle into transport mode, allowing an ally to be towed. Increases movement speed and heals your ally.
  • Frenetic Flight: Accelerate in your movement direction. Fuel recovery is slower while carrying another player.
  • Purr: Pulsing area heal that increases in frequency over time. Knockback nearby enemies when activated.
  • Catnapper (Ultimate): Dive towards a ground location, knocking down enemies and tethering the nearest one to you.
  • Jetpack (Passive): Permanent flight.
Jetpack Cat's kit (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
Jetpack Cat's kit (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Overwatch subroles

As noted, the subroles feature is new to Overwatch. In short, tanks, DPS, and support heroes are getting divided into 10 subroles in total.

Tank/DPS/Support
Overwatch Subrole
How It Works
Heroes
TankBruiserReduces critical damage received. While at critical health, gain movement speed.Mauga, Orisa, Roadhog, Zarya
InitiatorStaying airborne lightly heals you.D.Va, Doomfist, Winston, Wrecking Ball
StalwartReduces knockbacks and slows received.Domina, Hazard, Junker Queen, Ramattra, Reinhardt, Sigma
DPSSharpshooterCritical hits reduce your movement ability cooldowns.Ashe, Cassidy, Hanzo, Sojourn, Widowmaker
FlankerHealth packs restore more health.Anran, Genji, Reaper, Tracer, Vendetta, Venture
SpecialistEliminating an enemy briefly increases your reload speed.Bastion, Emre, Junkrat, Mei, Soldier: 76, Symmetra, Torbjorn
ReconDetect enemies below half health through walls after damaging them.Echo, Freja, Pharah, Sombra
SupportTacticianGain excess ultimate charge that carries over after using your ultimate ability.Ana, Baptiste, Jetpack Cat, Lucio, Zenyatta
MedicHealing allies with your weapon also heals you.Kiriko, Lifeweaver, Mercy, Moira
SurvivorUsing a movement ability activates passive health regeneration.Brigitte, Illari, Juno, Mizuki, Wuyang

Overwatch Hello Kitty skins

Season 1 also includes a bunch of new skins. The Overwatch x Hello collaboration, in particular, features Hello Kitty Juno, Cinnamoroll Kiriko, Pompompurin Mercy, My Melody D.Va, Kuromi Widowmaker, and  Keroppi Lucio.

Overwatch Season 1 mythic skins

Meanwhile, every season this year features two new mythic hero skins. Season 1 kicks things off with the Celestial Guardian Mercy hero skin and Juno's Star Shooter weapon skin. This is followed by Mei's first-ever mythic arriving mid-season.

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The Overwatch team plans to add mythic skins for Soldier: 76, Illari, and Mauga in the future as well. Players can also expect mythic weapon skins for Genji, Hanzo, and Sojourn later in 2026.

Mei's mythic skin (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
Mei's mythic skin (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

That's all for now. Are you excited for Overwatch Season 1 and beyond? Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch news and updates!