What we’d like to see if Echo joins Overwatch 2 as Hero 32

There’s a lot we don’t know about Overwatch’s Echo, but if the leaks from ESPN are to be believed she may be joining the cast of Overwatch 2 when that game is announced next week at BlizzCon. We saw her briefly in the animated short Reunion, but learned very little about her — we don’t know where she came from, or why she’s here now.

Echo is a slender, feminine omnic that might have ties to the Vishkar Corporation. The multi-national corporation is based in India, but has spread its hard-light technology to other places like Rio de Janeiro. It’s a company that seemingly has big goals that focus on building great things with its technology and leaving those outside of it to suffer. Echo could be a rogue Vishkar omnic with great powers, or simply an more powerful AI embodying a Vishkar design.

We know that Echo has known McCree long enough to trust him and be shocked at his metal arm in the short. She also didn’t seem to understand who Winston is when McCree mentioned that the gorilla’s call for former Overwatch members should include her.

Outside the game’s official content, Echo has some ties to early concept art for a character named Iris. The robot resembles Echo and has three listed powers: particle beam, speed boost, and shield. While it’s probably unlikely these will carry over to the hero exactly, it does make you wonder what she’d play like in the game as a new hero.

A particle beam could still work, especially if her design includes fast-paced movement. Right now, the game doesn’t have a Damage character that sits in a similar spot as Tracer with low health but high damage per second. She could fit into a similar role unless Blizzard decides to make her into a Support. A nimble healer like Mercy with strong healing output is also an unfilled spot in the roster. Many of the heroes that have come focus on stationary healing, so it’d be nice to see a movement-focused hero.

Because we don’t see a visible weapon her, it’s a mystery for how she’d do her primary attacks. Maybe she’ll be the first hero to utilize hard light technology outside of Symmetra. Imagine her as a sort of ranged caster but with the blue shapes of Vishkar’s matter-bending magic.

It’s been said that Echo will definitely be a hero that the Overwatch team would like to explore. Like with any character, the team has said they would love to make her a hero. Whether or not she’ll show up sooner rather than later is the big question. After the McCree short there hasn’t been any other teases that link up with her, but that doesn’t mean she’ll get a surprise BlizzCon announcement in November as Hero 32.