Overwatch 2 Season 15 has been a breath of fresh air for the game, significantly improving the sentiment around what was previously labeled as the worst user-reviewed game on Steam. Since its initial launch in 2016 and the transition to Overwatch 2 in 2022, the game faced substantial backlash, particularly after becoming the lowest-rated game on Steam in August 2023 due to its controversial monetization strategies and the forced update that made the original Overwatch unplayable.
The game also saw significant controversy with the cancellation of its much-anticipated PvE Hero mode, a feature many believed justified the sequel's existence. Despite these setbacks, recent reviews on Steam have shifted from 'mostly negative' to 'mixed,' with 43% of the 5,325 user reviews in the last 30 days being positive. This improvement is a notable achievement for Overwatch 2, considering the overwhelming negativity it faced upon its Steam release.
The turnaround is largely attributed to Season 15, which introduced significant changes to the game's core mechanics, including the addition of hero perks and the return of loot boxes. These changes have revitalized the gameplay experience, bringing back elements that were beloved in the original Overwatch while introducing fresh mechanics.
Overwatch 2 Season 15 Screenshots
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Positive user reviews reflect this shift. One player stated, "They just released Overwatch 2. The recent update is what the game should always have been before corporate greed got in the way." Another echoed this sentiment, saying, "For once, I must come to Overwatch's defense and say they really have stepped up their game. Going back to what worked in Overwatch 1 while introducing new and fun mechanics to the game. A certain game made them LOCK IN and I couldn't be happier. Now we just gotta wait for next season with an actual cooler battlepass."
The reference to "a certain game" is to Marvel Rivals, a competitive multiplayer hero shooter from NetEase that has garnered 40 million downloads since its December launch. In an interview with GamesRadar, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller acknowledged the new competitive landscape, stating, "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."
Despite the competition, Keller found the situation "exciting" and praised Marvel Rivals for taking Overwatch's established ideas in a "different direction." He also admitted that the success of Marvel Rivals has pushed Blizzard to adopt a more aggressive approach with Overwatch 2, stating, "this is no longer about playing it safe."
While it's premature to claim Overwatch 2's full recovery, the fluctuating user reviews suggest that reaching beyond 'mixed' ratings will be challenging. However, Season 15 has led to a significant increase in player numbers on Steam, with peak concurrent players nearly doubling to 60,000. It's important to note that Overwatch 2 is also available on Battle.net, PlayStation, and Xbox, though player numbers for these platforms are not publicly disclosed.
For comparison, Marvel Rivals recently achieved a peak of 305,816 concurrent players on Steam over the last 24 hours, following its own mid-season update.
