Overwatch 2 Kiriko guide: Abilities, gameplay, release date, and how to unlock

Everything you need to know about Overwatch 2’s newest hero, Kiriko.

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During the Tokyo Game Show, developer Blizzard Entertainment revealed the new support hero coming to Overwatch 2: Kiriko. With a combination of powerful abilities that are both offensive and defensive in nature as well as some excellent mobility tools, Kiriko is an incredibly effective character for support players that love to get into the thick of the action.

In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know about Kiriko, including all of her gameplay abilities, some quick tips on using her based on our experience playing her, and how you can unlock her in Overwatch 2.

Overwatch 2 Kiriko guide: Gameplay abilities

Like most otherOverwatch 2heroes, Kiriko’s abilities are what define her gameplay style, strengths, and weaknesses. Here’s a complete overview of what each of her abilities do.

Overwatch 2 Kiriko guide: Quick tips

These quick tips will help you be effective with Kiriko in battle, no matter which heroes the other team is using.

Overwatch 2 Kiriko: Release date

Kiriko, alongside both the new damage hero Sojourn and the new tank hero Junker Queen, released alongside Overwatch 2 when it launched on Oct. 4, 2022. As a result, she’s available to unlock and play now.

Overwatch 2 Kiriko: How to unlock

While bothSojournandJunker Queenare immediately playable for everyone, Kiriko — as well as future Overwatch 2 heroes — is not. To immediately be able to play Kiriko in Overwatch 2, you’ll have to purchase Overwatch 2 Season 1’s $10 Premium Battle Pass reward track. There’s also the option of the Overwatch 2 Watchpoint Pack, which costs $40 and includes access to Season 1’s Premium Battle Pass as well as a handful of exclusive cosmetic items and some in-game currency. Owners of the original Overwatch also get instant access to Kiriko as long as they log in before Season 1 ends, though they won’t be able to access future heroes in this way.

All other players can unlock Kiriko by reaching Tier 55 on theOverwatch 2 Battle Pass. This means you’ll have to grind for XP by playing matches and completing gameplay challenges for awhile before you can play the new hero. Note that all future new heroes that release during future seasons will be unlockable at Tier 55 as well.

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The move from immediately making heroes available for everyone to putting them in the Battle Pass is part of Overwatch 2’s new seasonal free-to-play model, in which Blizzard hopes to give players satisfying opportunities for progression by allowing them to earn unlocks and currency to spend on the Overwatch 2 in-game Store without ever having to deal with randomness like they had to with loot boxes.

Overwatch 2: Kiriko cinematic and trailers

Here, we’ve rounded up all of the available cinematics and trailers of Kiriko. You can watch them below. If more are uploaded to the Overwatch YouTube channel, we’ll embed them here.

Overwatch 2 Kiriko: Voice actor

Kiriko is voiced by Sally Amaki, an American singer and voice actress based in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. She’s a member of the Japanese idol group 22/7, and within the group, she often appears as both herself and her animated fictional character Sakura Fujima. Notably, she provides the voice and motion capture for the character.

Overwatch 2 is available now on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. It’s arguably one of thebest Xbox shootersavailable, and since it’s free-to-play, it doesn’t cost anything to check it out. Alternatively, players can purchase the Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack that provides access to Season 1’s Premium Battle Pass, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and a bundle of unique Legendary skins.

Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack

The $40 Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack offers fans a variety of benefits that will allow them to get guaranteed access to Season 1’s Premium Battle Pass track, unlock some unique rewards, provides some in-game currency to use, and more.

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Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).