When does Overwatch 2 season 10 start?

15.04.2024 - 16:17 / polygon.com / Aaron Keller

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.

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:

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.

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.”

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