The Kanezaka Challenge introduced to Overwatch, adds new lore

Overwatch has revealed a new challenge, which starts on January 12, called the Kanezaka Challenge, which arrived mere hours after some new lore was posted to the game’s official website.

The challenge is similar to past challenges where users will have to win matches in any game mode. The challenge begins on January 12 and ends on January 25. This gives players just about two weeks to earn all of the in-game goodies. 

What rewards are in the Kanezaka Challenge? 

In the teaser for the event, Overwatch also showed off a new Hanzo skin. The ultimate reward for these challenges is usually a skin, and this challenge is no different. Hanzo is rocking a pair of sunglasses, a blue-grey and orange palette on his clothes, and a dark-colored weapon set with some bright accents. Players will need to win nine games in any game mode besides the game browser to claim their skin. 

Fans can also expect some rewards for watching promoted streamers in the form of spray drops. In past events, officially recognized streamers would enable drops in their channels which give free cosmetics to viewers who have their Battle.net accounts linked to Twitch. Odds are that this will be the case here, as well.

New Overwatch lore arrives ahead of Overwatch 2 release

Many fans were surprised to see some new Overwatch lore since the developers have stated numerous times that no new significant content would be added prior to the release of Overwatch 2. As of this writing Overwatch 2 still has no release date, but fans are hoping that one will be revealed during Blizzcon, which takes place from February 19 to 21. Developers have been fairly quiet about the new game, but Blizzard’s Jeff Kaplan has said that fans would see more of Overwatch 2 at Blizzcon in a December 2020 developer update. 

The lore that dropped was a letter written by Asa, the swordmaster that taught Genji and Hanzo. She is writing to her husband, who is a weaponsmith who forges blades for the Hashimoto clan. Recently, a group of rebels has been stealing things from the Hashimoto. Asa states her disapproval of this, since the people of Kanezaka end up punished for the thieves’ actions. Asa writes of her intent to stop the rebels to protect the people of Kanezaka. 

Fans have already started to speculate what this means. While Kaplan has stated numerous times that there would not be a new hero before Overwatch 2 is released, this has fans wondering if Overwatch 2 is close to launching. Blizzard isn’t known for taking a long time to introduce characters, save for when Sombra was introduced, so fans are inclined to think that there could be a release date that coincides with the announcement of the game’s launch. This also led fans to speculate that a new hero, or perhaps several new heroes, may be introduced with the launch of Overwatch 2. 

Those wishing to know more about Overwatch 2 and the new features and heroes can tune in to Blizzcon Online, which Blizzard President J. Allen Brack has stated will be free to watch and engage with for the first time in Blizzcon history.