Sierra’s overpowered (for some) ultimate and Mercy’s rework might’ve been Overwatch season 2’s big talking points, but one part of the fandom is focused on something else: River. If you don’t know who River is, join the club. The Overwatch subeddit’s been trying to figure it out since last week.
In the “spray” section of the hero customization page, you’ll find a dizzying array of options: some unique to that hero, some from special events, a handful of esports-adjacent sprays, and a big batch of “common” ones. River, a scruffy-looking pup sporting aviator goggles on their head, is one of those common sprays. And since every hero can use the common ones, there’s no real hint as to who River might be attached to.
Here’s a list of some of the guesses and why they definitely aren’t River:
- Murphy: Sojourn’s dog, little Corgi-coded thing (not River).
- Maisie: One of Hazard’s dogs, also a little gray thing (also not River).
- Hazard’s other dogs: an unnamed pack in one of his sprays, none of whom resemble River.
- Moira’s dogs: from an old spray showing what looks like a Doberman and maybe a Dachshund-adjacent breed (in other words, not River-shaped).
- Junker Queen’s dog: A few people said they remembered seeing a dog in Junker Queen’s animated short, but there isn’t one.
- Freja’s dog: River has aviator goggles, is the line of thinking here. But there’s no indication Freja has a dog (or that Freja was ever an aviator during her time as a criminologist or ever showed a preference for goggles).
- Wuyang’s dog: Because they’re called River, but there’s also no indication Wuyang has a dog.
You might think a random new spray would warrant little attention, but even the seemingly random ones have some connection to a current event or a hero. The Almendron car spray, for example, was a reward during a Havana-based event when Overwatch was still Overwatch, and the Mt. Fuji spray is a nod to the classic Hanamura map. This season’s River spray is also situated next to a new Fika (Jetpack Cat) spray, so a few people speculate that maybe Brigitte and Torbjorn adopted a dog as a companion for Jetpack Cat. It would explain the goggles, anyway.
Given its position next to Jetpack Cat, most folks hope the spray is a cheeky tease about an upcoming character. We’ve got two animal tanks (Winston and Wrecking Ball) and a cat support, the line of thinking goes, so all we need to round things off nicely is a dog DPS. Top suggestions include Tractor Dog (yes, please) and Sword Dog, though a few voices dissenting against the call for a damage hero make a good case for a healer. Imagine a support dog acting like one of those St. Bernards, rushing down the streets of Esperanca with life-saving care and a tail-wag for all.
This year’s Overwatch hero roadmap shows no dog-shaped characters planned for the next few seasons, but who knows? With oddball characters now back on the menu, maybe we’ll get a tractor DPS dog someday after all.
