From the moment it was unveiled, Marvel Rivals has drawn inevitable comparisons to Overwatch. At first glance, the similarities are striking: both games are competitive multiplayer hero shooters, featuring a roster of characters with unique abilities. Marvel Rivals, however, sets itself apart by integrating Marvel's iconic heroes and villains into its gameplay. Both titles are free-to-play, monetized through live service models, and rely on the continuous addition of new characters to keep the player base engaged.
Since its launch in December, Marvel Rivals has seen an explosive surge in popularity, which some believe has come at the expense of Overwatch 2's player base. The narrative suggests that Blizzard's game is experiencing a decline as NetEase's Marvel Rivals attracts a significant portion of its audience.
In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller addressed the new competitive landscape shaped by the emergence of Marvel Rivals. "We're obviously in a new competitive landscape that I think, for Overwatch, we've never really been in before, to this extent where there's another game that's so similar to the one that we've created," Keller remarked. Despite the potential threat, he described the situation as "exciting" and praised Marvel Rivals for taking Overwatch's established ideas in a "different direction."
Keller acknowledged that Marvel Rivals' success has necessitated a shift in Blizzard's approach to Overwatch 2, stating, "this is no longer about playing it safe." In response, Blizzard has unveiled plans for significant changes to Overwatch 2 in 2025. The roadmap includes expected new content, but more notably, the core gameplay will undergo a major transformation with the introduction of hero perks and the reintroduction of loot boxes.
The gaming community will be watching closely to see if these updates can reignite interest in Overwatch 2. It's been nearly nine years since the original Overwatch debuted in 2016, and two-and-a-half years since the launch of Overwatch 2. Although Blizzard keeps Overwatch player numbers confidential, data from Steam shows that Overwatch 2's concurrent player numbers have reached their lowest point since its launch on the platform in 2023, with a peak of 37,046 players in the last 24 hours. In contrast, Marvel Rivals continues to dominate, ranking among the top 10 most-played games on Steam, with a peak of 310,287 players over the same period.
Overwatch 2 currently holds a 'mostly negative' user review rating on Steam, a sentiment that was particularly evident in August 2023 when it became the worst user-reviewed game on the platform. The negative feedback largely centered on the game's monetization strategy, following Blizzard's controversial decision to update the premium original Overwatch into a free-to-play sequel, effectively rendering the original game unplayable. Overwatch 2 also faced backlash over the cancellation of its much-anticipated PvE Hero mode, which many players felt was the primary justification for the sequel's existence.
For more insights into Marvel Rivals, including the developer's stance on datamining and speculation about a potential Nintendo Switch 2 version, check out IGN's coverage.
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