Despite speculation, anticipation, and trepidation that actor-wrestler-nice guy John Cena might be coming to Overwatch 2, he is not. Cena is instead helping to promote Overwatch 2 — à la Megan Fox’s stint as a Diablo 4 hypewoman — and its upcoming expansion, Invasion, which will bring a new maps, a new game type, and the game’s 38th hero to Blizzard’s shooter on Aug. 10.
Cena’s involvement with Overwatch 2 was teased last week, when various streamers had their broadcasts corrupted and interrupted by a “hacker” known as The Enigma. That character’s face was obscured, but in code that appeared on screen, Overwatch fans started to connect the dots to Cena (his birthday and middle names were spotted in The Enigma’s “malicious code”).
That lead to speculation that Cena himself would appear in Overwatch 2, potentially as a skin or as a voice. Blizzard has implemented outside properties like Lego and One Punch Man in Overwatch, but there was really no good fit for Cena — with the possible exception of hacker Sombra, whom you sometimes can’t see, but she does not match John Cena’s silhouette.
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Photo: Blizzard Entertainment
For better or worse, John Cena will not appear in Overwatch 2. Fans will have to settle for Fortnite, numerous WWE games, or the upcoming Mortal Kombat 1, in which Peacemaker will guest star, to get their virtual Cena fix for now.
Overwatch 2: Invasion, the major content update that Cena is here to remind you of, introduces a new story-driven PvE component to the game. Players will battle the robotic forces of Null Sector across Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, and Gothenburg as part of the paid expansion, which costs $15. Free updates coming to the game in August include the new Flashpoint game mode, which will be playable on two new maps, and a new support hero, which players can unlock through the free track of the battle pass.
Overwatch 2 is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The PC version will be coming to Steam on Aug. 10.