Skip to main content

Blizzard appears to accidentally leak a second 'Overwatch' Sombra image

overwatch maps characters 2017 overwatchsombraconcept
Imgur/THE_SOMBRA
Sombra’s existence in Overwatch has been all but confirmed at this point, with an alleged internal Blizzard image showing the character posing in an in-game screenshot, but the developer appears to have accidentally leaked a second image ahead of her official announcement.

Available for a brief period of time on the Blizzard store’s website before making its way to Reddit and Imgur by a quick fan, the image of Sombra appears to be concept art, showing the purple-haired alleged Talon operative wielding a claw-like gauntlet that fires energy beams in all directions in a manner similar to Symmetra or Winston. Her skirt, boots, and collar all appear to be made out of a metal armor, and she has a small scar on her left eyebrow.

Recommended Videos

Though Blizzard hasn’t officially unveiled Sombra yet, earlier leaks point to her being a “hacker,” possibly working in conjunction with Reaper and the Talon organization. Should she be a member of Talon, Sombra would be one of the few “bad” characters in the game. The list also includes Reaper, Widowmaker, Roadhog, and Junkrat.

Just what class Sombra ends up being is still up in the air, but we suspect it’s likely defense. The concept art shows an attack capable of hitting multiple targets at once, and given her small size in relation to Winston — a tank who has a Tesla cannon with a similar move — and the fact that Symmetra is already available as a support character, a less aggressive role seems to suit Sombra.

With Sombra still not officially revealed, it’s almost guaranteed that she will be finally revealed to the public at Blizzcon, which begins this Friday, November 4. She will be the second character added to Overwatch post-release, following supporting sniper Ana’s inclusion over the summer.

Gabe Gurwin
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…
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..

Read more
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.

Read more
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.

Read more