Overwatch 2's Season 15 revitalizes the game, significantly improving player sentiment and marking a turning point from its historically low Steam user review rating. Launched nearly nine years after the original Overwatch and two and a half years after Overwatch 2's release, the game previously held the unfortunate title of Steam's worst-reviewed game, largely due to controversial monetization practices and the cancellation of its highly anticipated PvE Hero mode.
While still holding a "mostly negative" overall rating, recent reviews show a notable shift towards "mixed," with 43% of the 5,325 reviews in the last 30 days being positive. This positive shift is largely attributed to Season 15's significant gameplay changes, including the introduction of hero perks and the return of loot boxes.
Overwatch 2 Season 15 Screenshots
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Positive player feedback highlights the game's return to core mechanics appreciated in the original Overwatch, while incorporating enjoyable new features. The success of the similar competitive title, Marvel Rivals (boasting 40 million downloads since its December launch), has undeniably impacted Blizzard's approach to Overwatch 2, prompting a shift away from a "safe" strategy.
Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller acknowledged the intensified competition, describing the situation as "exciting" and praising Marvel Rivals' innovative take on established concepts. However, he also admitted that Marvel Rivals' success has compelled Blizzard to adopt a more bold and risk-taking approach to future development.
Despite the positive momentum, declaring Overwatch 2's complete comeback is premature. While Season 15 has led to a near doubling of peak concurrent players on Steam (reaching approximately 60,000), it remains challenging to gauge the overall impact due to the game's availability on multiple platforms and the lack of publicly available player count data from Blizzard, Sony, and Microsoft. For comparison, Marvel Rivals currently boasts 305,816 peak concurrent players on Steam. The fluctuating Steam reviews suggest that maintaining a positive trajectory will be an ongoing challenge for Blizzard.
