When does Overwatch 2 season 10 start, and what’s included?

Season 10 of Overwatch 2 will be a big one for Blizzard’s free-to-play shooter. It will introduce a new hero in Venture, a new damage-class addition to the roster, and the first taste of a brand-new game mode, Clash. We’re also getting a very evil-looking Mercy.

Overwatch 2’s new season is also switching up the free and premium paid battle pass. No longer will heroes be locked behind a paywall and no longer will you need to grind the battle pass to unlock a skin for a hero you don’t even play.

There’s a lot of content coming Overwatch 2 this season, including the second annual Pride event, so continue reading to see everything that’s coming in season 10 — and, more importantly, when you can play it.

What time does Overwatch 2 season 10 start?

Overwatch 2 season 10 starts on Tuesday, April 16. There’s no official release time yet, but in-game events typically launch at 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT in the United States, so we can reasonably expect something similar for the launch of season 10. This means the update will likely be available at these times:

• 11 a.m. PDT for the west coast of North America
• 2 p.m. EDT for the east coast of North America
• 7 p.m. BST for the U.K.
• 8 p.m. CEST for Paris
• 3 a.m. JST on April 15 for Tokyo

What’s new in Overwatch 2 season 10?

New damage hero, Venture

Venture joins the Overwatch 2 roster as the game’s 18th damage hero with the launch of season 10. Unlike past heroes that have been added to Overwatch 2, Venture will be free for all players — they’re not locked behind the game’s battle pass — and available to play in Competitive modes from day one. In another first, Venture is also the game’s first nonbinary hero.

Venture’s ability kit is built around their drill-like weapon known as the Smart Excavator, which fires a seismic charge that explodes after traveling a short distance. The Smart Excavator also lets Venture burrow underground, where they’ll be invulnerable to attack for a brief period, then emerge upward to deal damage. Venture’s Smart Excavator gives them the ability dash forward, pushing enemies back, with the Drill Dash ability. They come equipped with two passives: Explorer’s Resolve, which grants them temporary shields when using abilities; and Clobber, which deals more damage when using a melee attack.

Venture’s ultimate ability, Tectonic Shock, sends out damaging shockwaves. Venture’s full kit is explained in the infographic below.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

If you played Venture during their limited-time trial in March, a few things have changed. Blizzard explained those tweaks in a post from game director Aaron Keller, who said, “we’re slightly shifting some of their burst damage from their Drill Dash and Clobber (their melee) into damage over time” and “we’re looking to reduce the vertical knockback of Tectonic Shock.”

All Overwatch 2 heroes unlocked

Overwatch 2 players will have free access to all heroes, including Kiriko, Junker Queen, Sojourn, Ramattra, Lifeweaver, Mauga, and Venture, without having to pay for them or grind through the game’s battle pass. You’ll have to have completed the new player experience to get access to all past, present, and future heroes, but that’s a comparatively small ask.

Season 10 battle pass and Mythic skin changes

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Two big changes are coming to the battle pass.

First, you’ll now be able to earn up to 600 Overwatch Coins (the game’s paid premium currency) through the battle pass. Previously, you could earn up to 540 Coins by completing weekly challenges, which was a hell of a grind.

Second, you’ll also earn a new currency called Mythic Prisms through the premium version of the battle pass. This new currency can be spent to unlock mythic hero skins and mythic skin customizations. The premium battle pass offers up to 80 Mythic Prisms, which is enough to fully unlock one complete mythic skin, Blizzard says.

As of season 10, Overwatch 2 players are no longer limited to unlocking just one mythic skin. This season’s new mythic is for Mercy, but Blizzard is making past mythic skins available for purchase with Mythic Prisms through Overwatch 2’s in-game shop. If you missed out on a previous season’s mythic skin, you’ll get the chance to catch up and snag an older one.

New Clash game mode trial with a new-ish map

Overwatch 2 will get a brand-new game mode called Clash later this year. As part of season 10, you can try out Clash for a limited time, from April 16-29. Blizzard describes Clash as a tug-of-war challenge in which teams fight to five capture points along a linear path.

Season 10’s Clash trial will be played on a sort-of-new map, Hanaoka, which reworks design elements from the deprecated Assault map, Hanamura.

New event mode, Mirrorwatch, with remixed hero abilities

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Mirrorwatch will give Overwatch 2 players a peek into an alternate universe, with heroic Overwatch versions of Doomfist, Sombra, and Widowmaker battling against evil Talon versions of Mercy, Reinhardt, and Ana. Those new, inverted allegiances come with new hero abilities, including Doomfists Power Block shield, Mercy’s Soul Burn detonation, and Sombra’s Anti-Virus ultimate. Players will battle on a redesigned Watchpoint Gibraltar map which has been taken over by Talon forces.

Mirrorwatch will be available from from April 23 to May 13. Players will be able to earn event-themed skins from the battle pass (or buy them from the in-game shop) throughout season 10.

Hero reworks and balance changes

Blizzard is giving Wrecking Ball a bit of a rework, letting the tank hamster hero better protect his allies. If you’re a Wrecking Ball player, here’s what you can expect in season 10:

Wrecking Ball can now protect his teammates as you dive into the enemy lines and use Adaptive Shield, providing the option to transfer some of the additional shield health to nearby allies. Grappling Claw gets a new upgrade for greater control as you swing: now you can press primary fire while the claw is attached to the map terrain and retract Wrecking Ball for additional mobility. Lastly, Grappling Claw’s cooldown has been adjusted to be partially refunded if you don’t reach fireball speeds.

Blizzard is also doling out nerfs for Sombra and Tracer, with Sombra’s virus ability dealing less damage over time and Tracer’s Pulse Bomb ultimate becoming “more difficult to land on targets.” Doesn’t affect me; I never land it anyway!

Additionally, expect buffs for tanks, with Reinhardt getting a boost to his Earthshatter ult. You can read about the full hero changes in Overwatch 2’s season 10 patch notes.

Everything else

Season 10 will also see the return of Pride in Overwatch 2 — though Blizzard hasn’t said what that will entail or how it will differ from last year’s iteration. D.Va’s also getting a new skin designed by Porsche and Blizzard, so save your Overwatch Coins if you’re into that sort of thing.

Here’s a quick visual guide to Overwatch 2 season 10’s upcoming content roadmap.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment