New 'Overwatch' Character Rumors: Blizzard reveals Doomfist won't be the next release

For those of you in the Overwatch fandom who were looking forward to playing its rumored new hero Doomfist in the near future, we have bad news. The next Overwatch hero is almost certainly not Doomfist, according to Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan's comments in a post on Blizzard's forums.

"Twenty-four is not who you think it is," Kaplan responded to a post that jokingly asked him to divulge top-secret information about the next Overwatch character, referring to the fact that said character will be Overwatch's 24th.

Though Kaplan didn't mention Doomfist explicitly, it's pretty clear that's who he was referencing. For the past several months, Doomfist has been the rumored new character the Overwatch fandom has been chattering about incessantly. 

New Overwatch character rumors: Who is Doomfist?

If you haven't heard of him until now, Doomfist is a character that's been teased throughout the history of Overwatch. Widowmaker and Reaper attempt to steal his gauntlet in the Overwatch cinematic trailer. His gauntlet is also the item inside the payload on Numbani that players are escorting to the Heritage Museum.

The idea Doomfist might become the next playable character was mostly fantasy, fueled primarily by the fandom's petition for actor Terry Crews to voice him — a petition Crews himself ecstatically endorsed.

However, players have also uncovered an actual clue that Doomfist might make his Overwatch debut soon — though not for awhile, apparently. Reddit user Venxa found an alternate model of the Numbani payload in which the glass case is shattered, which has been interpreted as a sign Doomfist himself might actually turn up.

Regardless of who the next Overwatch hero is, don't expect any months-long ARGs like the one used to lead up to Sombra's reveal. In another recent post on Blizzard's forums, Kaplan said it had taken the Sombra ARG feedback "to heart" and, therefore, isn't planning on talking about new hero development ahead of time.

More Overwatch news and updates

For more on Overwatch, check out the rest of what Mic has to offer. Here is a list of our predictions for what seasonal events might appear in 2017, a look at a very funny but naughty meme on the Overwatch subreddit, an interview with the creator of an awesome new Overwatch zine, the full patch notes for Overwatch version 2.03, a full explanation of the different types of health in Overwatch, our definitive ranking of every Overwatch hero, a roundup of awesome gender-bent Overwatch cosplay and a giant Overwatch FAQ for beginners.