Overwatch 2 Dev Blizzard Welcomes Marvel Rivals Competition, Says It’s Never Faced Another Game ‘So Similar to the One We've Created’

From the moment it was unveiled, Marvel Rivals has been frequently compared to Overwatch. At first glance, the resemblance is striking: Marvel Rivals, like Overwatch, is a competitive multiplayer hero shooter that employs Marvel heroes and villains as its characters. Both games are free-to-play, operate as live services, and rely on the introduction of new characters to keep the gameplay fresh and engaging.

Since its launch in December, Marvel Rivals has seen a meteoric rise in popularity, and there's speculation that this has come at the expense of interest in Overwatch 2. According to the prevailing narrative, Blizzard's Overwatch 2 is experiencing a decline in player numbers as NetEase's Marvel Rivals captures a significant portion of the audience.

In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Aaron Keller, the director of Overwatch 2, discussed the new competitive landscape Blizzard finds itself in, now that Marvel Rivals has been released and is attracting tens of millions of players.

Overwatch 2 Perks

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"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, Keller found the situation "exciting" and praised Marvel Rivals for taking ideas established by Overwatch in a "different direction."

Keller admitted that Marvel Rivals' success has necessitated a shift in Blizzard's approach to Overwatch 2, stating, "this is no longer about playing it safe." As a result, Blizzard has announced significant changes coming to Overwatch 2 in 2025. These changes include new content as well as a fundamental transformation of the core gameplay, with the introduction of hero perks and the return of loot boxes.

The gaming community will be closely watching to see if these alterations 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 Overwatch 2 was launched. Although Blizzard does not disclose Overwatch player numbers, the concurrent player count on Steam for Overwatch 2 is at an all-time low since its release on Valve's platform in 2023, with a peak of 37,046 players in the last 24 hours.

In contrast, Marvel Rivals continues to dominate as one of the top 10 most-played games on Steam, boasting a peak of 310,287 concurrent players over the same period.

Marvel Rivals Tier List: Best Heroes

Overwatch 2 still holds a 'mostly negative' user review rating on Steam. In August 2023, it even became the worst user-reviewed game on Steam, largely due to backlash over its monetization practices. Blizzard faced heavy criticism for transforming its premium predecessor into a free-to-play sequel, effectively making the original Overwatch unplayable in 2022. Additionally, Overwatch 2 has faced numerous controversies, including the cancellation of its long-awaited PvE Hero mode, which many players felt was the key feature that justified the sequel's existence.

For more on Marvel Rivals, IGN provides extensive coverage, including developer insights on datamining and discussions about the potential for a Nintendo Switch 2 version.