{
  "id": 6970599,
  "title": "Heroes of the Storm Gets First New Character in Six Years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/heroes-of-the-storm-gets-first-new-character-in-six-years",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-12T17:43:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IGN",
    "slug": "ign",
    "url": "https://www.ign.com/articles/heroes-of-the-storm-gets-first-new-character-in-six-years"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Blizzard's long-running multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, Heroes of the Storm, is experiencing renewed interest. After six years without new content, the game is set to receive its first new character since Hogger was introduced in 2020. The new character, Xal atath, is the primary antagonist of World of Warcraft's Midnight expansion and will be available on the game's official server, the Nexus, starting Monday, September 28. The pre-release phase for Xal atath will begin on September 14. While Blizzard officially ended support for Heroes of the Storm in 2022, stating that future patches would focus on client sustainability and bug fixes, smaller updates and new skins have continued to appear sporadically since then. The announcement of Xal atath has been met with enthusiasm from the game's community, who had largely given up hope of any further updates. Blizzard's senior leadership has expressed cautious optimism, acknowledging that the community's response to this fresh content will determine whether more updates are forthcoming. The company has characterized this update as the game's first major foray into new material, leaving the door open for additional changes based on community reception.",
  "summary": "Announced at Blizzcon 2026, Heroes of the Storm is getting its first new character since Hogger was released in 2020, as well as a new PTR.",
  "key_points": [
    "After six years, Heroes of the Storm receives first new character, Xal atath.",
    "Xal atath is antagonist of World of Warcraft's Midnight expansion.",
    "Pre-release begins September 14, official launch September 28."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}