Overwatch's 28th Hero Is Hammond, a Hamster In a Mech

Blizzard revealed Overwatch's newest hero in a tweet earlier today, a hamster in a rolling mech called Hammond. This is Overwatch's 28th addition to the roster. Hammond shares his origin with another character in the game, Winston - a super intelligent gorilla from Horizon Lunar Colony, a map that was added to the game last year. The Horizon Lunar Colony in Overwatch lore was an experiment meant to turn gorillas into scientists which ended poorly. Its subjects rebelled, launching human scientists into space.

According to the Overwatch Wiki, Hammond was the name given to a test subject formally known as Specimen 8. Before the base's fall, he escaped from his cage. Like past heroes, expect him to be playable in the Overwatch PTR before being available for all on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Hammond's mech looks quite similar to the Wrecking Ball champion from another Overwatch map, Junkertown. This could possibly make him the next hero in the game from Australia after Roadhog and Junkrat.

It's great to see Blizzard's inclusivity extend to non-human characters, giving the game a sense of diversity few have in addition to giving the game a longer shelf life. Coupled with a host of events through the year and a steady reveal of heroes, it's interesting to see what Blizzard adds next to the game. The last hero added was Brigitte, a support class character that followed Moira, Doomfist, and Orisa as new additions to the game.

If you're a fan of video games, check out Transition, Gadgets 360's gaming podcast. You can listen to it via Apple Podcasts or RSS, or just listen to this week's episode by hitting the play button below.