New Overwatch VA shouts out the subreddit that's been waiting 8 years for his character to become playable: "Search and destroy"

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New Overwatch VA shouts out the subreddit that's been waiting 8 years for his character to become playable: "Search and destroy" News By Jordan Gerblick published 7 February 2026

Turns out the Emre hopium wasn't hopium after all

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A new Overwatch voice actor is giving a well-deserved shoutout to the Reddit community that's been waiting for his character to be added for eight years.

Over on r/EmreMains, Overwatch players have been labeled hopium huffers for eight long years. See, they've been clinging on to the hope that a niche character from Overwatch lore, the Turkish mercenary Emre, would one day be officially added to the roster. And as we learned this week, it turns out that whatever they were huffing on wasn't hopium after all, as Blizzard has confirmed Emre is indeed coming to Overwatch in season 1 alongside four other heroes. Yeah, in case you haven't been following, there are some changes happening to Overwatch.

As you can imagine, the folks over at r/EmreMains are beside themselves with excitement. It's pretty much all they want to talk about now. Seriously, I tried bringing up Jetpack Cat and they weren't having any of it.

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Anyway, Kerem Erdinc, the actor voicing Emre in Overwatch, took it upon himself to congratulate r/EmreMains for finally getting what they've wanted for so long in a video message shared to the subreddit, and it's simply a wholesome moment to witness.

"I just wanted to set a heartfelt congratulations to the r/EmreMains subreddit for eight years of dedication and patience in waiting for what you have wanted, and I just want to tell you that I've been right there with you for these last eight years, and the wait is finally over," Erdinc said. "Search and destroy," he added in his character's voice.

A Special Message for R/EmreMains from r/EmreMains

Erdinc seems like good people, as he took the time to engage with both English-speaking and Turkish-speaking members of the Emre community in the comments section, sharing neat little insights and general celebratory vibes.

Emre is a fairly straightforward damage character with a health regen passive and a burst rifle as his primary fire. He seems like he'll make a great beginner character, although it's unclear right now how well he'll scale for higher level players.

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Blizzard insists its Overwatch rebrand isn't "us trying to admit there was a failure," it's about easing fears over "when it's going to get replaced by Overwatch 3"

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After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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