Overwatch game director Aaron Keller has defended making Hudson, the game’s 55th hero, a damage hero, telling players the robot detective began development as a Support before Blizzard moved him into the role for Season 6.
In a four-part post on X on November 13, Keller addressed the backlash that followed the November 12 reveal of Hudson as the Season 6 damage hero. “We’ve seen a lot of discussion about the role (DPS) of the Season 6 Hero. We understand that you were looking forward to another Support Hero next season and I hope that giving context for the decision will help players understand it, even as some of them are disappointed,” Keller wrote.
Why Hudson switched roles
Keller said work on the detective hero started on the Support side of the roster. “When we started work on the detective, he was a Support. But as time went on and the kit continued development we realized that it wasn’t working. Once we tested Hudson as a DPS, the turn around in our feelings for him was instantaneous and dramatic,” he wrote.
He framed the decision as a choice between shipping a hero the team believed in and one it did not, adding that building Overwatch heroes is as much an art form as a technical challenge. Blizzard is reportedly proud of how Hudson plays ahead of his debut.
Why players pushed back
The announcement of Hudson as the game’s newest Damage Hero landed poorly with part of the player base because the damage role already dominates the roster: Overwatch currently fields 23 damage heroes against 16 supports and 15 tanks, and Hudson makes it 24. The sting was sharper because Hudson had been teased as an incoming support hero before the pivot.
Role changes are not new for Blizzard. Symmetra moved from Support to damage, while Sombra was recently reworked from damage into a Support who can “hotfix” her teammates.
Hudson is expected to arrive in Overwatch Season 6 in December 2026.