If you’re downloading Overwatch 2 for the first time, or coming back after a long break, one of the first questions you probably have is are all heroes free in Overwatch 2. The original Overwatch let everyone who bought the game access the full hero roster right away, so the shift to free-to-play left a lot of players confused about what’s included for free. I’ve played Overwatch 2 consistently since its launch, with both a free-to-play alt account and a main account that has purchased multiple premium battle passes, so I can break down exactly how the hero access system works, no fluff included.
Are All Heroes Free in Overwatch 2? The Short Answer
No, not every hero is available for free immediately when you sign up for a new Overwatch 2 account, but no permanent paywalls exist for any playable hero in the game. That means you never have to spend real money to get access to any character, even newly released ones. The only difference between free and paid players is how fast they can unlock new heroes when they first launch.
Brand new free players get access to a small starter roster of 13 heroes to learn the game with, covering all three roles: tank, damage, and support. These include fan favorites like Tracer, Reinhardt, and Mercy, so you’ll have plenty of viable options to play even before you unlock more characters. Original Overwatch 1 owners got all the launch heroes for free as a loyalty reward, but new players can unlock those same heroes through simple gameplay challenges in a matter of weeks.
Post-launch heroes added after Overwatch 2’s 2022 release, like Illari, Lifeweaver, and Venture, first become available through seasonal battle passes. Free players can unlock these heroes on the free track of the battle pass at tier 45, while premium battle pass owners get access immediately when the season launches. Once the season ends, all those post-launch heroes move to a permanent challenge pool that free players can complete at any time to unlock them for no cost.
How Free Players Can Unlock Every Overwatch 2 Hero Without Spending Money
Unlocking the full hero roster as a free player is far easier than most people think, even if you only play a few hours a week. I unlocked every original Overwatch hero on my free alt account in less than three weeks of casual play, and I’ve gotten every new post-launch hero for free without buying a single premium battle pass. The process works as follows:
You don’t need to buy the premium battle pass to unlock new seasonal heroes, even when they first launch. For the last three seasons, I hit tier 45 on the free track at least two weeks before the season ended, just playing 2-3 quick play matches a night after work. If you play ranked or arcade modes, you’ll earn XP even faster, so you can hit the unlock tier even sooner.
If you’re a new player focused on unlocking the original roster first, stick to playing quick play and completing your daily challenges. Daily challenges reset every 24 hours and give huge chunks of onboarding progress, so you’ll unlock new heroes every couple of days at minimum. Don’t stress about trying to unlock every hero at once, either; focus on learning the ones you have first, and you’ll unlock the rest before you know it.
What Do You Get If You Pay for Premium Battle Pass or Overwatch 2 Ultimate Bundle?
While you never have to spend money to unlock heroes, there are paid options for players who want to skip the grind or get extra cosmetic rewards. The $10 premium battle pass gives you immediate access to the new seasonal hero the second the season goes live, so you don’t have to wait until you hit tier 45 to play it. You also get exclusive skins, emotes, voice lines, and in-game currency as you progress through the premium track, plus a 20% XP boost to help you level up faster.
The $30 Overwatch 2 Ultimate Bundle includes the premium battle pass for the current season, plus 20 tiers of battle pass progress, extra exclusive skins, and a handful of hero unlock tokens you can use to skip challenges for older heroes. It’s a good option if you’re a new player who wants to catch up on older heroes fast and get extra cosmetics for your favorite characters.
It’s important to note that paid access only speeds up unlock timelines, it never locks exclusive gameplay content behind a paywall. There are no heroes that are only available to paying players forever, and paid players don’t get any stat boosts or gameplay advantages that free players don’t have access to. The only difference is that paid players can try new heroes a few weeks earlier than free players who don’t grind the battle pass fast enough.
I only buy the premium battle pass if I know I’ll have time to play most of the season, and if I really like the new hero that’s being released. If you only play a few hours a month, the premium pass isn’t worth the cost, because you can still unlock the new hero for free before the season ends, or wait a few months and unlock it via permanent challenges for no cost at all.
Common Misconceptions About Overwatch 2 Hero Access
There’s a lot of misinformation floating around about Overwatch 2’s hero unlock system, so I want to clear up the most common myths I see online. First, a lot of players claim that new heroes are permanently locked behind a paywall, which is completely false. Every post-launch hero released so far is now available to unlock for free via permanent challenges, even if you didn’t play the season it first came out in.
Another common myth is that free players can’t compete in ranked play because they don’t have access to all heroes. That’s not true for two reasons: first, the ranked hero pool rotates every season, so even if you have every hero unlocked, you won’t be able to play all of them in ranked at any given time. Second, most meta heroes that are viable for ranked play are part of the base starter roster, or are very easy to unlock via onboarding challenges. I have a friend who only plays on a free account, is ranked in the top 10% of support players, and has never spent a cent on the game.
Some players also complain that original Overwatch 1 owners got an unfair advantage because they got all the launch heroes for free. But remember, original Overwatch players paid $60 for the game, so their free hero access is a reward for their earlier purchase. New players can unlock all those same original heroes in 15-20 hours of casual play, which is a very low bar to clear for a free-to-play game.
Finally, a lot of players worry that Blizzard will start locking heroes behind paid only content in the future, but Blizzard has never removed a hero from free access once it's added to the permanent challenge pool, and has repeatedly stated that all future heroes will be available to free players via the battle pass free track or permanent challenges. You don’t have to worry about losing access to heroes you’ve unlocked, or being forced to pay for new heroes down the line.
So to circle back to the original question of are all heroes free in Overwatch 2: no, they aren’t all available immediately when you make a new free account, but every single hero can be earned without spending a cent if you’re willing to put in a little playtime. The system is far more generous than most free-to-play competitive games, and you never have to worry about pay-to-win advantages for paying players. If you’re a casual player, just focus on having fun, completing your daily challenges, and you’ll unlock the full roster before you know it. If you want to skip the grind for new heroes or get extra cosmetics, the premium battle pass is a decent value, but it’s never required to enjoy the full game.