The next ‘Overwatch’ hero is a hamster in a gun-blazing robot

By Gabe Gurwin Published June 28, 2018

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Blizzard recently began teasing the next hero in its multiplayer shooter Overwatch with short videos, and all signs pointed to it being Hammond, a small ape who escaped from the Horizon Lunar Colony along with current hero Winston. What Blizzard actually revealed, however, has us thinking that Hammond was never an ape at all.

In a Twitter video titled “Champion Revealed,” Blizzard showed a spider-like robot unload on an enemy with massive turrets. After a few seconds, the top popped open and out came an adorable hamster.

Recommended Videos

Previous teasers have shown the hamster rolling at high speed with the robot’s legs folded in. If this ability is used in the game, it could allow the little rodent to quickly get into position and defend a payload

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The name “Hammond” is not mentioned in the teaser video, but we’re almost 100 percent sure that this is Hammond, rather than a hypothetical baby ape. We had assumed he was an ape due to Winston escaping from the same facility, but the name does fit a hamster more than a giant intelligent primate.

As the hamster only giggles in the teaser, it’s unclear if he’ll be able to talk to other characters or will instead squeak or chirp. Bastion is non-verbal, using different beeps to communicate, but we wouldn’t be opposed to the hamster speaking English.

This hero certainly sounds like an idea out of left field, but there is kind of some precedent for it — just not from where you’d expect. In a “Mean Tweets” Jimmy Kimmel Live segment from 2015, Tobey Maguire was told he was actually just a “hamster in a robot.” Perhaps a member of the Overwatch team thought the insult was funny … or it could be a random coincidence that we just happened to notice.

This week Overwatch also added its “endorsements” and “looking for group” features, which are designed to make building teams an easier and less toxic experience. Being endorsed by other players on a consistent basis will result in you getting extra rewards, and there are several different categories for which other players can commend you.

Overwatch is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

Despite its rocky start, I’m still optimistic about Overwatch 2’s future

Lucio and other heroes attack enemies in Overwatch 2 story missions.

Overwatch 2’s launch year didn’t exactly go as planned.

In the lead-up to its October 2022 launch, the excitement for the hero shooter sequel was sky-high, largely thanks to a planned Hero mode. As its release date approached, several choices during development would erode that hype. That would include the departure of Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan, a controversial swap to five-player teams, and plans for a revamped battle pass and microtransaction system. Even more complaints arose when new characters were initially locked behind a battle pass and Blizzard ditched its planned PvE campaign -- which was arguably the biggest justification for creating the sequel in the first place..

Gaming

Why Overwatch 2’s show-stealing new hero took an extra four years to debut

Mauga poses in Overwatch 2.

With the switch to 5v5, Tanks became a make-or-break part of any Overwatch 2 team. While Support and Damage players can rely on another player of their class to pick up their slack when they struggle, tanks no longer have that privilege. As a more casual Overwatch 2 player who’s not competitively viable, this has discouraged me from playing as a tank. While I do like the abilities of characters like Junker Queen, I’m hesitant to play as them because I’m worried about being the player that causes my team to lose. Mauga, the latest Overwatch 2 hero, looks to change that, but it took years of ideas and concept reboots on Blizzard’s end.

Unveiled at BlizzCon 2023, Mauga is an aggressive Samoan tank allied with Talon that can tear through enemies with his two chainguns and dash that makes him invincible. That makes him enjoyable for those who like more offensive Heroes, but Support fans will find some stuff to love with abilities that can heal other players or give them infinite ammo. I had the chance to play Mauga at BlizzCon 2023, and for the first time since Overwatch 2 was released, I’m eager to go back and play as a Tank.

Gaming

Overwatch 2’s story missions are the light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel

A giant turret in set up in Gothenburg in Overwatch 2's story missions.

Overwatch 2: Invasion finally brings three PvE story missions to the competitive shooter, but it was an arduous process to get here.

When Blizzard Entertainment first announced Overwatch 2 in 2019, the game’s main hook was new cooperative story missions that would finally give players the Overwatch narrative content they yearned for alongside more replayable Hero Missions and a Talent skill tree system. When Overwatch 2 eventually launched into early access in October 2022 after several leadership changes, it was free-to-play and lacked any narrative content. To make matters worse, a May 2022 announcement from Blizzard that it canceled work on the Hero Missions system put the future of PvE story content into question for many Overwatch players.