After Becoming the Worst User-Reviewed Game Ever on Steam, Overwatch 2’s Recent Reviews Jump to ‘Mixed’

Overwatch 2 Season 15 is making waves, significantly boosting the sentiment around a game that once held the title of the worst user-reviewed game on Steam. Launched nearly nine years after the original Overwatch in 2016, and two-and-a-half years following Overwatch 2's debut, the game faced severe backlash in August 2023. This backlash was primarily due to its monetization strategies, following Blizzard's decision to convert its premium predecessor into a free-to-play sequel, making the original Overwatch unplayable in 2022.

Overwatch 2 also stirred controversy with the cancellation of its highly anticipated PvE Hero mode, a feature many believed justified the sequel's existence. Despite these setbacks, the game'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 significant milestone for Overwatch 2, which has faced relentless criticism since its launch on Valve’s platform.

The turnaround can be attributed to Season 15, which introduced substantial changes to Overwatch 2. Alongside expected new content, the core gameplay has undergone a major overhaul, featuring hero perks and the return of loot boxes. These updates have resonated well with the community, as evidenced by recent positive reviews on Steam.

Overwatch 2 Season 15 Screenshots

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"They just released Overwatch 2," one positive review states. "The recent update is what the game should always have been before corporate greed got in the way." Another review praises the game's direction, saying, "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 comment references Marvel Rivals, a competitive multiplayer hero shooter from NetEase that has garnered 40 million downloads since its December launch. In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller discussed the competitive landscape shaped by Marvel Rivals' success. "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 noted. Despite potential threats, Keller finds the situation "exciting" and appreciates how Marvel Rivals takes ideas from Overwatch in a "different direction."

Keller also admitted that Marvel Rivals' success has prompted a shift in Blizzard's approach to Overwatch 2, stating, "this is no longer about playing it safe." While it's premature to claim Overwatch 2's full revival, the fluctuating Steam reviews suggest that achieving a rating better than 'mixed' remains challenging. Nevertheless, Season 15 has driven a surge in player numbers on Steam, with peak concurrent players nearly doubling to 60,000. It's important to remember that Overwatch 2 is also available on Battle.net, PlayStation, and Xbox, where player numbers are not publicly disclosed.

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