Overwatch 2 Reveals the First Post-Launch Hero Coming to Stadium

Overwatch 2 is adding Freja to the Stadium game mode during the mid-Season 16 update. Though both Freja and Stadium both only just arrived in Overwatch 2 in the new season, fans can look forward to taking the bounty hunter into the arena soon.

Stadium is a new Overwatch 2 game mode and the centerpiece of Season 16. Featuring the ability to customize character kits with Items and Powers, a unique third-person camera, and a special ranked progression system, Stadium launched with 17 playable heroes, with more to be added in future seasons.

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However, it seems players won’t have to wait until Season 17 for the 18th hero to be added to Stadium. During an Overwatch 2 developer update released right before the season went live, senior game designer Dylan Snyder confirmed Freja would be coming to the game mode during the mid-Season 16 update – likely arriving in about a month. Revealed at the 4:12 mark of the video, Snyder explained that fans could expect to learn about Freja’s unique Items and Powers in Stadium in a few weeks.

Overwatch 2 Mid-Season 16 Update Adding Freja to Stadium

Freja is the newest hero in Overwatch 2 who was also added in Season 16. A Danish Overwatch search and rescue agent turned bounty hunter, Freja is the first of three heroes planned for 2025. She is a swift, precision-based hero with a high skill floor and ceiling, so players will likely be able to enhance her mobility, lethality, and bounty-hunting capabilities to unleash even more devastation on her targets in Stadium.

While it may seem odd to some fans, who might have expected iconic characters like Winston or Tracer to be added to the mode before Freja, it actually makes sense for her to arrive first. Overwatch 2 was already actively developing her, so building her Stadium Items and Powers alongside her base kit and Perks was likely easier than starting from scratch. Considering Overwatch 2‘s Stadium game mode features a Bounty system where players who are on a killstreak grant additional rewards when killed, it is also thematically appropriate for Freja to join the roster as well.

Overwatch 2 Heroes Playable in Stadium

Beyond Freja, fans can expect multiple heroes to be added to Stadium every season until Overwatch 2 catches up to the current roster of 43. However, given Freja is coming to Stadium quickly, players shouldn’t be surprised if Aqua or Overwatch 2’s mysterious 45th hero follows suit and is added to the game mode shortly after their arrival – if not immediately with their respective seasons.

Overwatch 2

6/10

Released

August 10, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence

Engine

Proprietary Engine