Summary
- Alec Dawson, former lead gameplay designer of Overwatch 2, is now the game’s associate director of game design.
- Dawson’s advancement within Blizzard shows his dedication to Overwatch 2’s creative processes.
- The Overwatch 2 community is excited about Dawson’s promotion, looking forward to his impact on the game’s future.
Alec Dawson, former lead gameplay and hero designer of Overwatch 2, is now the associate director of game design for the hero shooter. With over three of his seven years of experience working for Blizzard having been on Overwatch 2, Dawson is no stranger to how Team 4 does things, which should enable him to help the FPS find even more success.
In November 2021, about a year before Overwatch 2’s release, Alec Dawson joined Team 4 as a senior game designer for the sequel to Blizzard’s iconic hero shooter. Over the next three years, Dawson earned a series of promotions, rising to the position of lead hero designer in 2022 following the departure of former Overwatch 2 developer Geoff Goodman, and lead gameplay designer in 2024.
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Now, Dawson’s work with Overwatch 2 has scored him further advancement within the Blizzard development team. According to Dawson’s profile on LinkedIn, the developer was promoted to associate director of game design in March 2025. This position ostensibly places him directly under game director Aaron Keller on the team, giving Dawson even more control over the creative processes of Overwatch 2.
Alec Dawson is Now Associate Director of Overwatch 2
While Dawson has worked on Overwatch 2 for its entire lifespan, he started his Blizzard career in 2018 on the Hearthstone team. He worked as the initial designer for the Saviors of Uldum and Scholomance Academy card sets in Hearthstone, and as the lead game designer for nearly a dozen other expansions and the Battlegrounds game mode in 2020, until he joined Team 4 in 2021.
Needless to say, the Overwatch 2 community was excited to learn about Dawson’s promotion. The developer is one of the most vocal and transparent developers on the Overwatch 2 team, often appearing alongside Keller to discuss hero balance, changes, and how the team uses fan feedback to improve the game. Dawson has been a consistently positive presence on Team 4, so it seems like the majority of players are eager to see what he can accomplish as the associate director of game design.
In general, Overwatch 2 seems to be in a great place right now. The Perks system introduced in Overwatch 2 Season 15 has been a huge hit, and other upcoming gameplay features, such as the Stadium game mode and hero bans, promise to shake things up in drastic and refreshing ways. Hopefully, Dawson’s new position as associate director of game design can help Overwatch 2 continue to put out satisfying content like this for the foreseeable future.
Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
- Released
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August 10, 2023
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence