Blizzard Devs Reveal Their Favorite Overwatch Heroes

Ever wondered which Overwatch heroes the actual developers can't stop playing? At BlizzCon 2026, GameSpot sat down with game director Aaron Keller and associate game director Alec Dawson to get the inside scoop on their personal favorites, original mains, and the newer heroes they think you should be playing.

For Dawson, it all started with Lucio. "My first main, like, 'I want to play this character all the time,' was Lucio," he said. The appeal? That fluid mobility. "When there's a character with very fluid mobility, I'm like, 'I'm going to lock in and learn as much as I can about this hero.'" Lucio's wall riding and Crossfade speed boost make him a nightmare to pin down, and Dawson admits he's used Soundwave to boop more than a few opponents down the well in Ilios. "I think Lucio just spoke to me on a level—I was like, 'Wait, I can do all of those things?'"

Keller's original main was Tracer, and his praise is glowing. "I just loved the mechanics. I feel like the kit is almost perfect, the way that it works," he explained. Blink, Recall, and her Pulse Pistols create a coherent, high-speed playstyle that Keller still loves. These days he queues flex, which usually means tank, so he rotates through Reinhardt, Winston, Zarya, and Orisa. When he does play damage, he'll still pick Tracer—though he admits, "I'm a lot worse at damage than I used to be."

When it comes to newer heroes, Dawson singled out Doctrine as a perfect blend of art and gameplay. "Doctrine is a wonderful example of taking an art visual archetype that we hadn't explored yet, this techno-vampire, making it the Overwatch version of that, with all the gameplay bundled together for his drones," he said. Keller agreed, calling it "this amazing combination of backstory, visuals, and gameplay that really supports this, sort of, vampire fantasy."

Dawson's personal favorite among the new batch is Shion. "I think the one that I personally vibe with the most, 'cause it was just over the top, is Shion," he noted. The devs based her on action movies—"we need to kick a motorcycle from the air," Dawson recalled. Her slightly villainous personality struck a chord with players, matching her extravagant concept.

Keller's pick is a bit less flashy but just as effective: Emre. "I think the primary fire of Emre feels so good," he said. That three-round burst Synthetic Burst Rifle makes Emre easy to learn. "Overwatch is a first-person shooter, so you just want a weapon like that in the game," Keller explained. "He might not be the flashiest character that we've got, but he has really resonated with a lot of players, and I think one of the reasons is that primary fire."

So there you have it—straight from the developers' mouths. Whether you're a mobility fiend like Dawson or a mechanics purist like Keller, there's a hero on this list for you. What do you think? Will you be picking up any of these developer favorites in your next match?