Overwatch's Spring Storm Rising Event Confirmed, And Possible New Hero Teased

Blizzard has confirmed its next Overwatch event is called Storm Rising. First hinted with a fictional newspaper clipping--posted to Overwatch's main website--Storm Rising was confirmed via a tweet (which can be seen below). The tweet reveals Storm Rising's story and possibly teases a future playable hero named Sojourn.

[Update: Blizzard has confirmed Storm Rising is a PvE story-mission driven event. The co-op mode puts players in the role of Tracer, Genji, Winston, or Mercy as they take on Maximilien. Blizzard will also add more than 160 cosmetic items to Overwatch, presumably including a number of skins. In addition to the new mode, two returning co-op event modes--Uprising and Retribution--will both be playable for the duration of the event. No additional updates have been provided for the identity of Sojourn, though, so we don't know if that will turn out to be a new playable character or just a background figure in the lore.]

The Havana Sun newspaper clipping is written in Spanish, with an English translation provided beneath it. The article details the unknown corporate takeover of Don Rumbotico, a popular distillery with a "controversial" history. Apparently, after Don Rumbotico founder Clara and Basillo Diaz refused to sell the Havana distillery to an "anonymous financial group," they were met with repeated hardships and eventually had to sell their company regardless. The article goes on to list that Don Rumbotico isn't the only Havana icon to be bought by this mysterious group, and ends with a weather warning for an approaching storm. What this all means for Overwatch isn't completely clear until the follow-up tweet is also taken into account.

The tweet contains a decrypted audio recording for an archived mission briefing in the Overwatch team's database. The message is to Commander Morrison, putting the date of the recording prior to the fall of Overwatch and Morrison's transformation into Soldier: 76. The briefing admonishes Morrison for trying to track down Doomfist, as going after the villain's accountant Maximilien and connecting them back to Doomfist would prove a much easier task. The voice then states Tracer will lead the team tasked with tracking Maximilien down, and she'll be joined by Winston, Genji, and Mercy. The briefing ends with the voice identifying themselves as Sojourn.

The trailer then ends with the tease that Storm Rising will occur April 16 through May 6. Though Maximilien has never appeared in-game, he's been a part of Overwatch's lore for a while as a council member in Doomfist's villainous group, Talon. Most likely, he's the one behind the financial group buying up the local icons in Havana, and Tracer and her team will attempt to investigate his holdings under the cover of the fierce storm that's approaching the city. This story will presumably be told over the course of a four-person co-op PvE mission. Blizzard has not confirmed this, but this style of storytelling has been used in Overwatch's previous April limited-time events, Retribution and Uprising, before.

What's most compelling is the introduction of Sojourn, as she's never been mentioned before but she sounds like someone who possesses great authority either within or over Overwatch. Whether she's an upcoming playable hero remains to be seen, but it sounds like she'll play a substantial role in the upcoming limited-time event.

Overwatch is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.