Overwatch 2's new support hero Juno joins the roster in August, but you can play her for free this weekend

Juno | New Hero Gameplay Trailer | Overwatch 2 - YouTube

Blizzard has officially unveiled Overwatch 2's next support hero as Juno, a bubbly astronaut healer who will be playable in a limited-time "hero trial" that starts on July 19—that's tomorrow—and runs until July 21 on all platforms.

Juno will be accessible in all game modes except Competitive during the trial period, and will also be available in the No Limits mode in the Overwatch arcade, which will enable everyone in the game to play as Juno instead of racing to pick her first.

Details on the new hero's abilities haven't been revealed at this point but today's trailer showcases some highlights: Juno's Mediblaster weapon, which seems to heal or harm depending on who it's aimed at, her Glide Boost ability that looks like a limited form of flight (or maybe just a really floaty jump), Pulsar Torpedoes that seem to be a high-powered, multiple-target version of the Mediblaster, and the Hyper Ring, a sort of gateway that makes everyone who runs through it go really fast.

The big finish comes in the form of Juno's Orbital Ray (presumably her ultimate), a blast from a distant space station that appears to apply a significant buff to Juno's allies, and debuff to her enemies.

As for Juno herself, that too remains a mystery for now. As noted by Polygon, Blizzard began teasing the character in June with the addition of an empty escape pod in Overwatch 2's Dorado map that seemingly carried a mysterious "Space Ranger" back to Earth. An encoded message being transmitted by the pod included the line "J has landed," which some took to be a reference to Jiayi, an old friend of Mei. But Juno's apparent youth may mean, as others have speculated, that she's actually Jiayi's daughter.

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Overwatch 2 - Juno promo image — (Image credit: Blizzard)

We'll find out the truth soon enough. Blizzard said a proper breakdown of her abilities, and presumably her backstory, will be shared on Friday along with the Overwatch 2 patch notes.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.