While this would've sounded like the ravings of a madman a few weeks ago, Overwatch's next hero is going to be Wrecking Ball - a highly intelligent hamster piloting a ball-shaped mech that posses incredible mobility and firepower. A silly concept to be sure, but the actual gameplay behind Wrecking Ball is ridiculously entertaining, which is why I'm glad to say that he will be coming to the live version of Overwatch on July 24th!

As with all new heroes, Wrecking Ball will not be immediately available in Competitive Play, for obvious reasons. Instead, you will have around two weeks in order to practice your combos, discover all of the various grapple spots, and basically just learn how not to launch yourself straight into the Illios well. Given his skill ceiling I doubt two weeks will be enough, but it should at least ensure everyone has a basic understanding of what the hero does, and that is definitely a good thing for Competitive Play as a whole.

Besides the cuddly hamster, this update will also introduce some much needed balance changes. Damage boosts will no longer affect Hanzo and D.Va's ultimates, Hanzo's Stormbow will be getting nerfed, Mei/Soldier/Bastion/McCree will be getting their fall-off range buffed, and perhaps most interestingly, Sombra will be getting a mini-rework. You can find all of the details over at the official forums.

And finally, allow me to send you off with Wrecking Ball's origin story, just for good measure. Enjoy!