Overwatch 2 Season 15: A Resurgence?
Overwatch 2, once holding the dubious title of Steam's worst-reviewed game, is experiencing a surprising resurgence thanks to Season 15. Nearly nine years after the original Overwatch's debut and two and a half years after Overwatch 2's launch, the game's overwhelmingly negative reception, largely fueled by monetization controversies and the cancellation of the highly anticipated PvE Hero mode, is showing signs of improvement.
While the overall Steam user review rating remains "mostly negative," recent reviews have shifted to "mixed," with 43% of the 5,325 reviews from the past 30 days being positive. This significant shift is largely attributed to the changes introduced in Season 15. These changes include the addition of hero perks and the return of loot boxes, core gameplay adjustments that have resonated positively with players.
Overwatch 2 Season 15 Screenshots
9 Images
Positive player feedback reflects this shift. Comments highlight the return to elements that worked well in the original Overwatch, combined with enjoyable new mechanics. The impact of the popular competitor, Marvel Rivals, is also acknowledged.
Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller, in an interview with GamesRadar, acknowledged the intensified competition presented by Marvel Rivals' 40 million downloads since its December launch. While acknowledging the "exciting" and "really great" aspects of Marvel Rivals' innovation, Keller admitted that the game's success has spurred a change within Blizzard, pushing them to move beyond a "playing it safe" approach.
Despite the positive trend, it's premature to declare Overwatch 2's complete comeback. The game's Steam reviews still show fluctuating sentiment, making a sustained improvement to a more positive rating challenging. However, Season 15 has undeniably boosted player numbers on Steam, nearly doubling peak concurrent players to 60,000. It's important to note that these figures only represent the Steam player base; total player numbers across all platforms (Battle.net, PlayStation, and Xbox) remain undisclosed. For comparison, Marvel Rivals recently boasted 305,816 peak concurrent players on Steam.
