“Leaked” Overwatch 2 screenshots reveal new “unranked” mode & hero gallery

Michael Gwilliam
Baptiste in Overwatch 2

Images supposedly from the Overwatch 2 Alpha have surfaced, revealing a new “unranked” game mode, title screen and hero gallery, but are the leaks real?

The Overwatch 2 beta is beginning on April 26 and players have been eager to sign up. While they wait, however, an alpha test is currently underway for OWL pros and select content creators.

So far, there have been a number of leaks. Notably, xQc accidentally opened the game on stream, the OWL Facebook account posted an image before deleting it and a report by GGRecon revealed some of the new hero reworks.

On March 28, a series of images were posted to an imageboard with the caption “OW2” and showcased what seems to be a new mode alongside never before seen screenshots of the alpha. But not everyone is convinced they’re legitimate.

Overwatch 2 images potentially leaked

In the thread, an image showing the versus screen revealed that the alpha build of Overwatch 2 doesn’t have Competitive, Arcade, Custom Games or Experimental available, but it does have an “unranked” mode.

This mode seems to have taken the place of Quick Play and judging by its name, may let players battle it out with ranked rules, but without any SR on the line.

The hero screens also list Doomfist as a tank – something that was confirmed during an Overwatch developer stream earlier in March. That said, not all of the hero icons use the Overwatch 2 designs.

This has resulted in some debate among fans about whether or not the images are real or not.

Overwatch players debate OW2 leak

In a post on Reddit, users went back and forth on the leaks, with some claiming that because it’s an Alpha build, not everything will be as new as a beta release.

Others took issue with Sombra’s redesign missing from the hero select screen. “I feel like we would have seen Sombra and a few other characters with their new portraits and updated models. If this was legit, approach with caution,” one wrote.

“I wonder if that means the competitive ruleset is the ruleset for all game modes now. Personally, I’d be all for that, sometimes QP games are over way too quick,” another said, just happy at the possibility of Quick Play being removed.

So far it’s unclear if the images are real or not, but with the beta release still a bit far away, expect to see more leaks make their way through in the weeks ahead.