Marvel Rivals: A Competitive Landscape Shift for Overwatch 2
Since its release, Marvel Rivals has drawn significant comparisons to Overwatch, and for good reason. Both are competitive multiplayer hero shooters with strikingly similar mechanics and gameplay. The key difference? Marvel Rivals utilizes Marvel characters. Both games are free-to-play, live-service titles that rely on new character additions to maintain player engagement.
Marvel Rivals' explosive popularity since its December launch has reportedly impacted Overwatch 2's player base. Recent reports suggest a decline in Overwatch 2 players, seemingly migrating to NetEase's Marvel Rivals.
In a recent GamesRadar interview, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller acknowledged this new competitive landscape, stating that Overwatch 2 has never faced such direct competition. Surprisingly, Keller described the situation as "exciting" and praised Marvel Rivals for taking established Overwatch concepts in "a different direction."
However, Keller also admitted that Marvel Rivals' success has prompted a significant shift in Blizzard's approach to Overwatch 2, abandoning a "play it safe" strategy.
This has led to the announcement of substantial changes for Overwatch 2 in 2025. While the roadmap includes expected new content, the core gameplay will undergo a major overhaul, introducing hero perks and the return of loot boxes.
The success of these changes remains to be seen. Nearly nine years after the original Overwatch's debut and two and a half years after Overwatch 2's launch, Overwatch 2's concurrent player numbers on Steam are at an all-time low since its 2023 release, peaking at 37,046 in the last 24 hours. In contrast, Marvel Rivals maintains a top 10 position on Steam, with a concurrent player peak of 310,287 over the same period.
Overwatch 2's Steam reviews remain "mostly negative," a consequence of controversies surrounding its monetization and the cancellation of the highly anticipated PvE Hero mode.
Further details on Marvel Rivals, including developer statements on datamining and the possibility of a Nintendo Switch 2 version, can be found on IGN.
