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Earlier this year, during the Overwatch Spotlight in which Team 4 promised a different approach to managing the live service game, 10 heroes were teased. Five were released straight away, with Sierra, Shion, D.Mon, and Doctrine all being added to the game in subsequent seasons. This has left just one hero for the last season of the year, who also just so happened to be the hero I was most excited about back when the Spotlight was released.
But good things come to those who wait, and now after the better part of a year we finally know more about this final hero. His character design was shown at BlizzCon, which showed him to be omnic detective (my hype was well placed), but now we also know that he'll be joining the DPS class in season 6, although that wasn't always the plan.
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
"Back at Spotlight—I forget who I was talking to—we said we were going to do a support in season 6," associate game director Alec Dawson said during a stream with Flats and Emongg. "And originally that was the plan. But as things developed as the hero developed, as we got to mechanics, how they matched with the aesthetic, how they matched with who the hero is supposed to be," things changed. The decision was ultimately taken to switch him to the DPS role. "I don't know what else I'm allowed to say," Dawson adds. "I'll let Aaron [Keller, game director] say anything else."
"We'll just spill it all," Keller says, and that he does. "Megan just slacked that we've said enough but there's a couple of other things that I want to say about him. One of the cool things about this, so there was like a bit of a pivot on Hudson (accidentally leaks his name), oh whoops." Well there it is folks: the omnic detective is called Hudson, a cool name for a cool dude, it all checks out.
As a support main I am a little sad to hear about this change to DPS, but seeing as Team 4 explained how they "leaned into the things we loved the most about this hero and it definitely fit DPS a lot better", I'm happy with the change. I'll just have to put support aside for a couple of months, because there's no way I'm missing out on this hero.
This isn't just because he looks cool; according to Keller, Hudson is the most popular hero to-date among their internal and external testers: "We're always testing stuff and we have a user research group here and we'll bring in external players and stuff like that, and this hero by far got the highest scores of any hero that we've tested with these groups. I think he's so much fun."
To put this into perspective, the second most popular hero among testers within the last few years is Juno; a hero I would consider to be one of the best in recent Overwatch history. Her kit is fun, intuitive, and gels with her character design. So if that's the bar Hudson has beaten then my excitement is yet again very well placed. Oh, and Dawson says "he has a very fun accent", which really seals the deal for me.
2026 games: All the upcoming games
Best PC games: Our all-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPS games: Finest gunplay
Best RPGs: Grand adventures
Best co-op games: Better together
Continue reading...
But good things come to those who wait, and now after the better part of a year we finally know more about this final hero. His character design was shown at BlizzCon, which showed him to be omnic detective (my hype was well placed), but now we also know that he'll be joining the DPS class in season 6, although that wasn't always the plan.
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
"Back at Spotlight—I forget who I was talking to—we said we were going to do a support in season 6," associate game director Alec Dawson said during a stream with Flats and Emongg. "And originally that was the plan. But as things developed as the hero developed, as we got to mechanics, how they matched with the aesthetic, how they matched with who the hero is supposed to be," things changed. The decision was ultimately taken to switch him to the DPS role. "I don't know what else I'm allowed to say," Dawson adds. "I'll let Aaron [Keller, game director] say anything else."
"We'll just spill it all," Keller says, and that he does. "Megan just slacked that we've said enough but there's a couple of other things that I want to say about him. One of the cool things about this, so there was like a bit of a pivot on Hudson (accidentally leaks his name), oh whoops." Well there it is folks: the omnic detective is called Hudson, a cool name for a cool dude, it all checks out.
Hudson's Role Change Explained in #OverwatchHe was initially planned as a Support hero, but as development progressed, the team realized the core mechanic people loved most fit the DPS role better.The hero set record scores in research groups. https://t.co/VxTMpsPLUrNovember 13, 2026
As a support main I am a little sad to hear about this change to DPS, but seeing as Team 4 explained how they "leaned into the things we loved the most about this hero and it definitely fit DPS a lot better", I'm happy with the change. I'll just have to put support aside for a couple of months, because there's no way I'm missing out on this hero.
This isn't just because he looks cool; according to Keller, Hudson is the most popular hero to-date among their internal and external testers: "We're always testing stuff and we have a user research group here and we'll bring in external players and stuff like that, and this hero by far got the highest scores of any hero that we've tested with these groups. I think he's so much fun."
To put this into perspective, the second most popular hero among testers within the last few years is Juno; a hero I would consider to be one of the best in recent Overwatch history. Her kit is fun, intuitive, and gels with her character design. So if that's the bar Hudson has beaten then my excitement is yet again very well placed. Oh, and Dawson says "he has a very fun accent", which really seals the deal for me.
2026 games: All the upcoming games
Best PC games: Our all-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPS games: Finest gunplay
Best RPGs: Grand adventures
Best co-op games: Better together
Continue reading...
