Heroes Of The Storm Is Getting A New Hero, But 3.0 Isn't Coming Yet

Published Sep 12, 2026, 1:42 PM EDT Chris is a Gaming Editor at ScreenRant. He has been a professional writer since 2009, and has written for top TV, comics, movie, and video game outlets like Engadget, Polygon, Destructoid, and more. He brings with him an expertise in every game genre, no matter how niche or mainstream. You may know him as the former Managing/Reviews Editor of Destructoid, where he published hundreds of game reviews across every genre, including MMOs, sports games, and Metroidvanias. Find Chris on Twitter @_SRChris. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Heroes of the Storm has a long, complicated history. It was announced in 2010, reworked several times, released in 2015, relaunched in 2017, and put into maintenance mode in 2022. Since then, it's stayed alive through the passion of the community, as well as a maintenance development team that is still rebalancing and fixing the game all these years later. Now, after all this time, there are finally signs of life for the MOBA in the form of a new hero. However, this news comes with a caveat. While a new hero is great news for the health of the game, we aren't getting a massive 3.0 relaunch just yet. Heroes Of The Storm Gets A New Hero This Month Xal'atath is officially coming to Heroes of the Storm as the latest hero, launching later this month on September 23. Xal'atath is a timely addition, as she serves as one of the major antagonists of the World of Warcraft WorldSoul saga, which is currently playing out in retail WoW. For reference, the last hero added to the game was Hogger (of Warcraft fame) in December 2020, so it's been quite a while. Where Is Heroes Of The Storm 3.0? Blizzard made it clear that while this hero is a monumental update for Heroes of the Storm, this is not the start of a 3.0 relaunch of the game...yet. Blizzard mentions that if the community responds, we could get more heroes, but made no promises of a 3.0 version. As a reminder, Heroes of the Storm was relaunched back in X with a new "2.0" update, complete with new maps, heroes, and a whole new loot box system. Released in April of 2017, this was essentially a full relaunch, bolstered by the addition of Overwatch to the game. It was initially very successful (and drew in more users than 1.0), but over time the game was put into maintenance mode in 2022. Strangely, Microsoft injected some life into the game, adding hero licenses as a perk to Xbox Game Pass. There was also a sneaky free skin giveaway for BlizzCon 2026, signaling that Heroes of the Storm could make a big appearance at the show. While I was hoping for a 3.0, a new hero is something, and could lead to a lot more. Heroes of the Storm isn't just one of the best MOBAs I've played to date; it's one of my favorite games from Blizzard and one of my favorite online experiences of all time. The game has so much variety and love poured into it that it deserves another lease on life. Systems Released June 2, 2015 ESRB t Developer(s) Blizzard Entertainment Publisher(s) Blizzard Entertainment Engine Proprietary Engine Multiplayer Online Multiplayer