Overwatch 2 Recruits John Cena to Promote Invasion’s PvE Campaign, But He Won’t be in the Game

By | August 4, 2023
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For the last week or so, a mysterious figure has been “hacking” into Overwatch 2 games and streams.

Fans quickly realized that the “hacks” were a promotion for Overwatch 2: Invasion — the shooter’s new event featuring the rollout of the first wave of player-versus-environment [PvE] missions. Based on clues within the “hacking attacks,” fans also deduced that popular wrestler and actor John Cena would have some role to play in the upcoming content.

It turns out that Cena is indeed the mysterious “Enigma,” but it seems as if he might have less of a role to play than one might expect given his prominent placement. In a new video released alongside a trailer for the new PvE storyline, Cena was unmasked as The Enigma while calling for new heroes to join in on the fight against Null Sector.

But will Cena actually be in Overwatch 2? It doesn’t look it.

“This is a purely out of game promotion,” an Overwatch 2 representative told IGN. “[John Cena] will not appear in Overwatch 2 itself.”

Blizzard may still be holding back some surprises, but for now it seems like Cena’s role is mostly limited to promoting Overwatch 2: Invasion in viral advertisements, which is something of a surprise given that lately he’s appeared in everything from Mortal Kombat 1 (as Peacemaker) to PGA Tour 2K23.

Overwatch 2: Invasion gets multiple new trailers ahead of release

Elsewhere, Blizzard promoted the release of Invasion with a new trailer showcasing the PvE story missions as well as an animated cinematic starring Sojourn, who was first introduced next year. Alongside the long-awaited story missions, the new season will also include a brand-new PvP game mode and more.

Like everything else with Overwatch 2, Invasion has had its shares of controversy. First Blizzard announced that it was dropping Overwatch 2’s PvE Hero Mode, which was ostensibly one of the main reasons for the sequel existing, then revealed that permanent access to the story missions would cost $15. Fans should also expect a multi-season gap between Invasion and the next wave of missions, Blizzard says.

Blizzard will hope that Invasion is able to generate some more momentum for Overwatch 2, which has experienced declining interest over the past year. In addition to the new story missions, which have been in the works in one way or another for many years now, Overwatch will also be coming to Steam next week. It’s the clearest sign yet that Blizzard is looking to find fresh blood for its hero shooter wherever it can.

Overwatch 2’s Steam release is scheduled for August 10 alongside Invasion. For more, check out the full details of the Overwatch 2: Invasion release.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

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