As Marvel Rivals has gone from strength to strength, the game’s main competitor – Overwatch – has floundered. Since being released by NetEase in December, Marvel Rivals has taken the gaming world by storm, racking up tens of millions of players and sitting proudly atop social and streaming charts worldwide.
Overwatch 2 is struggling by comparison. From concerns about the game’s player count to the lack of meaningful updates, the hero shooter that once stood atop the genre is imploding.
‘The Overwatch 2 Launch Was Abysmal’
During a recent stream, Ninja broke down the state of play for Marvel Rivals and Overwatch. He stressed that Overwatch 2 has been in a pit since it was released in October 2022, which is accurate. It was seen by many as being ‘Overwatch 1.5’, and even a pivot to a free-to-play operating model didn’t do much to revive the game’s prospects.
He referenced the Overwatch 2 launch being ‘abysmal’ and then went in against the game, stressing that Marvel Rivals is taking over right now.
Overwatch is dead and gone.
It’s so unfortunate. Here’s the thing — first off, they already have a new map coming, which is incredible. Second, they have so much lore and so many heroes and villains and anti-heroes that they have enough for updates for the next ten years.
The clip captured and shared on TikTok can be viewed here (thanks to Dexerto for the spot).
The hero shooter space is booming right now. Marvel Rivals is in a league of its own, but fans of the genre are still enjoying and anticipating the imminent arrival of Valve’s Deadlock, which has received global praise from some of the biggest streamers in the business.
VALORANT, a hero shooter with a serious esports ecosystem, is also enjoying rampant growth and popularity.
Do you think Overwatch is in a hole it can’t get out of? Let us know on the GPlayr forum.
For more GPlayr coverage, check out the news that Dying Light has hit 45 million players