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- Overwatch 2’s player count on Steam has plummeted to an all-time low of just 31K concurrent players.
- This happened following the release of Marvel Rivals, which launched to over 444K concurrent players.
- Marvel Rivals presents a major challenge to Overwatch 2’s player base and its place in the hero shooter market.
Overwatch 2 is seeing a big drop in its player numbers on Steam, with only 31,775 concurrent players at the time of writing. This is the lowest player count the game has ever seen since its launch on the platform.
This decline comes just as Marvel Rivals launched on December 6, 2024, and quickly gained over 10 million players in 3 days. Marvel Rivals has already become one of Steam’s most-played F2P games, competing with the likes of Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.
Why it matters: Overwatch 2 is one of Steam’s most negatively reviewed games due to various controversies. The launch of Marvel Rivals could be the final nail in the coffin for Blizzard’s struggling game.
Marvel Rivals has captured player interest with its lineup of popular Marvel characters, an easy-to-use progression system, and cross-platform play. Unlike Overwatch 2, it lets players earn items and skins without pushing aggressive microtransactions.
This player-friendly model has drawn attention as a potential “Overwatch killer,” especially among those frustrated with Blizzard’s monetization tactics. Marvel Rivals launched to nearly 450K players on Steam, easily beating Overwatch 2’s launch record of just 50K concurrent players at launch.
Since launching on Steam, Overwatch 2 has been heavily criticized for its monetization practices and lack of new content. The game has received overwhelmingly negative reviews, and its player numbers have been steadily falling.
Players were begging for new content, but Blizzard introduced a $80 skin instead. The developer recently released the “Spell Binder” update, adding new cosmetics and seasonal content. However, these changes haven’t been enough to stop players from leaving for newer games like Marvel Rivals.
As Marvel Rivals continues to grow and Deadlock approaches launch, it will be extremely difficult for Overwatch 2 to stand out in the Hero Shooter genre.
How’s your experience with Marvel’s new hero shooter? Do you think Marvel Rivals will finally kill Overwatch 2? Let us know in the comments, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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