Overwatch 2 is struggling under the weight of Marvel Rivals’ early success as the new hero shooter on the block is drawing players away in droves.
Just nine months on from the game’s reveal, Marvel Rivals has become a force to be reckoned with. Dubbed the “Overwatch killer” before players even got their hands on the game, it immediately became clear Blizzard had some new competition in the genre.
Now that NetEase’s free-to-play title is out in the wild, those early predictions are coming true. Players are flocking to Marvel Rivals right out of the gate as, despite Blizzard’s former president calling it a mere “copy” of Overwatch, the fresh take is being received well in the opening stage.
So much so, Overwatch 2 is struggling to maintain a foothold. Reaching over 10 million players in just 72 hours on the market, Marvel Rivals is a smash hit. Meanwhile, Overwatch 2 is suffering from its quietest stretch yet, falling to the lowest concurrent player count on Steam that it’s ever seen.
Overwatch 2 player count dips amid Marvel Rivals success
Amid the hype surrounding Marvel Rivals, Overwatch 2 has dropped to its lowest point ever, at least since its arrival on Steam. Reaching as low as 16,919 concurrent players on the platform, according to SteamDB, the game set a new record for its smallest active player count to date.
Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind Steam is just one place to play the game, many still engage on BattleNet, and consoles need to be considered too. However, when compared to the breakout success of Marvel Rivals, it paints a clear picture of where the two games currently stand.
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In the meantime, Marvel Rivals has been a smash hit out of the gate, setting an all-time peak concurrent player count of 480,990 players on Steam. This trounces Overwatch 2’s all-time best of 75,608 concurrent players.
The new release is also flying on streaming platform Twitch, with over 170,000 live viewers at the time of writing, compared to just 6,400 in the Overwatch 2 category.
As is the nature of live service titles, ebbs and flows are to be expected, and it’s worth noting Overwatch 2 has its next jam-packed seasonal update arriving imminently. Season 14 goes live on December 10 and there’s every chance it helps drive an uptick in players again on Steam.
We’ll have to wait and see if Marvel Rivals can maintain its position atop the hero shooter genre in the long run or if the launch hype will fizzle out. If you’re jumping in yourself though, be sure to brush up on our hero tier list to pick the very best characters.
