Overwatch 2: Introducing the Origins of Lifeweaver, a New Support Hero

Xbox Exclusively reveals the Origin Trailer to Lifeweaver – the new hero joining Overwatch 2. This new support hero will arrive as part of Season 4 on April 11, and offers some very new options to players looking to assist their team – and a brand new thread to the Overwatch storyline.

Niran ‘Bua’ PruksaManee is a Thai scientist who combines nature and technology to offer new ways to heal, move and damage, both for himself and his team. As with all of Overwatch’s heroes, he also comes with a rich backstory, which you can check out in the new trailer below:

All of Lifeweaver’s abilities stem from his background as a naturalist. Lifeweaver was born in Chiang Mai to a wealthy family. But, after leaving his house, he began to see the damage being done outside. Bio-light is a technology that uses hard light from Symmetra and fuses it to create living plants. He refused to allow his parents and the Vishkar Corporation to misuse his technology. Instead, he ran home determined to make good use of his invention.

To learn more about the creation of this unique new hero, we spoke to Overwatch 2’s Lead Narrative Designer Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie. He explains that, as with all of Overwatch’s heroes, Lifeweaver began life as a series of gameplay ideas that needed a story created around them:

“He was design first and, from there, the story developed. The Narrative team was struck by the fact that we already knew we wanted to create a hero from plants, and then had to find out what this person could do with their plant powers. Then we saw the early prototypes and realized it doesn’t look like plants, but more like hard light, which led to his story being developed. It really highlights how the Overwatch team develops heroes, it’s very collaborative.”

The solution was to create the idea of bio-light, a new iteration of Overwatch’s existing hard light technology – already wielded by the likes of Symmetra and Lúcio. Lifeweaver created it to heal wounds and damaged plants, and wanted it to become free to use across the world – but his invention was claimed by the Vishkar corporation, a company most closely linked to Symmetra among the existing heroes.

It means that Lifeweaver’s story offers more to learn about Symmetra by association. “She was pretty much the one person at school who he understood and who understood him,” says Jurgens-Fyhrie, “and there is a lot there to explore. We can’t share too much about what is to come, but Vishkar is an important of the story, particularly for Symmetra and Lifeweaver.”

At the time of his introduction, Lifeweaver isn’t part of the in-universe Overwatch team, but Jurgens-Fyhrie says he’s known them while living as a fugitive, and is “loosely tied” to them in the same way Torbjörn is. Jurgens-Fyhrie won’t say if his story will become a part of the upcoming PvE story for the game, but we know that, “at the time of this announcement, Lifeweaver is living in the Atlantic Arcology, trying to find a way to cure diseases and heal the world.”

You’ll be able to play as Lifeweaver for free for a limited time An in-game celebration of his inclusion to the roster will take place from April 11 through April 24. B.O.B. arcade mode will also be available during the Thai New Year celebrations. and Weave (which will allow players to play only as Lifeweaver), and by participating you can earn Lifeweaver’s Cassia skin (based on the national flower of Thailand, the Ratchaphruek).