Home News Overwatch 2 Faces Fierce Marvel Rival

Overwatch 2 Faces Fierce Marvel Rival

Author : Joseph Mar 13,2025

From its unveiling, *Marvel Rivals* drew immediate comparisons to *Overwatch*. Superficially, the resemblance is striking: both are competitive multiplayer hero shooters, featuring distinct characters with unique abilities. *Marvel Rivals*, however, leverages Marvel's iconic heroes and villains. Both games share a free-to-play model, sustained by live service updates and the introduction of new characters to maintain player engagement.

Since its December launch, *Marvel Rivals* has exploded in popularity, sparking speculation about a potential decline in *Overwatch 2*'s player base. The prevailing narrative suggests NetEase's *Marvel Rivals* is siphoning players away from Blizzard's title.

In a recent interview with GamesRadar, *Overwatch 2* director Aaron Keller addressed this new competitive landscape, acknowledging the significant similarity between the two games and the massive player base *Marvel Rivals* has attracted.

Overwatch 2 Perks

"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 stated. While this might seem detrimental, Keller described the situation as "exciting," praising *Marvel Rivals* for taking established *Overwatch* concepts in "a different direction."

However, Keller conceded that *Marvel Rivals*' success has prompted a shift in Blizzard's approach to *Overwatch 2*, declaring, "this is no longer about playing it safe."

Consequently, Blizzard announced sweeping changes for *Overwatch 2* in 2025. The planned roadmap includes expected new content, but the core gameplay will undergo a significant overhaul, featuring the introduction of hero perks and the return of loot boxes.

The success of these changes in revitalizing *Overwatch 2* remains to be seen. Nearly nine years after the original *Overwatch*'s debut and two and a half years since *Overwatch 2*'s launch, while Blizzard doesn't publicly release player numbers, Steam's concurrent player count reveals an all-time low since its 2023 launch, peaking at 37,046 in the last 24 hours. In contrast, *Marvel Rivals* maintains a top 10 position on Steam, boasting a 24-hour peak of 310,287 concurrent players.

Marvel Rivals Tier List: Best Heroes

Marvel Rivals Tier List: Best Heroes

*Overwatch 2* currently holds a "mostly negative" user review rating on Steam, reaching the dubious distinction of being Steam's worst-reviewed game in August 2023. Negative reviews primarily cite monetization issues following the controversial transition from a premium model to a free-to-play sequel, rendering the original *Overwatch* unplayable in 2022. Further controversies, including the cancellation of the highly anticipated PvE Hero mode—a key feature cited by players as justifying the sequel's existence—further fueled negative sentiment.

IGN offers extensive coverage of *Marvel Rivals*, including developer clarifications on datamining and speculation about a potential Nintendo Switch 2 release.

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