Overwatch 2's Steam Reviews Surge to 'Mixed' After Hitting Rock Bottom

Overwatch 2 Season 15 has been making waves, significantly improving player sentiment around what was once dubbed the worst user-reviewed game on Steam. It's been nearly nine years since the original Overwatch debuted in 2016, and over two-and-a-half years since the launch of Overwatch 2. In August 2023, Overwatch 2 became infamous for receiving the worst user reviews on Steam, primarily due to criticism over its monetization strategy. Blizzard faced backlash for converting its premium predecessor into a free-to-play sequel, making the original Overwatch unplayable as of 2022.

The game faced further scrutiny with the cancellation of its highly anticipated PvE Hero mode, which many players believed was the sole justification for the sequel. Despite these setbacks, Overwatch 2's user review rating on Steam has shifted from 'mostly negative' to 'mixed,' with 43% of the 5,325 reviews in the last 30 days being positive. This improvement, though modest, marks a notable milestone for a game that has been battling intense negativity since its Steam launch.

The turnaround can be attributed to the recent launch of Season 15, which brought substantial changes to Overwatch 2. Alongside the expected new content, the core gameplay experienced a significant overhaul, featuring the introduction of hero perks and the return of loot boxes.

Overwatch 2 Season 15 Screenshots

9 Images

Positive feedback has been pouring in, with one review stating, “They just released Overwatch 2. The recent update is what the game should always have been before corporate greed got in the way.” Another user added, “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.” This refers to the impact of Marvel Rivals, a competing hero shooter from NetEase, which has garnered 40 million downloads since its December launch.

In a recent GamesRadar interview, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller discussed the competitive landscape, noting the unprecedented challenge posed by Marvel Rivals. "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," Keller remarked. Despite the competition, he found the situation "exciting" and praised Marvel Rivals for taking Overwatch's established ideas in a "different direction."

Keller acknowledged that Marvel Rivals' success has spurred a shift in Blizzard's approach to Overwatch 2, emphasizing that "this is no longer about playing it safe." While it's premature to claim Overwatch's full recovery, the fluctuating Steam user reviews indicate a challenging path ahead to surpass the 'mixed' rating. Nonetheless, Season 15 has boosted player engagement on Steam, with peak concurrent player numbers nearly doubling to 60,000. It's important to note that Overwatch 2 is also available on Battle.net, PlayStation, and Xbox, with player numbers not publicly disclosed by Blizzard, Sony, or Microsoft.

For comparison, Marvel Rivals, which recently rolled out a mid-season update, achieved a peak of 305,816 concurrent players on Steam in the last 24 hours.