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 is showing signs of recovery. The initial backlash, stemming from controversial monetization practices and the cancellation of the highly anticipated PvE Hero mode, left the game with overwhelmingly negative reviews.

However, Season 15 has shifted the tide. While the overall Steam rating remains "mostly negative," recent reviews show a significant improvement to "mixed," with 43% of the 5,325 reviews from the past 30 days being positive. This positive shift is attributed to substantial gameplay changes introduced in Season 15, including hero perks and the return of loot boxes.

Overwatch 2 Season 15 Screenshots

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Player feedback reflects this change. Positive reviews highlight the update as a return to the core gameplay that made the original Overwatch successful, contrasting it with past criticisms of corporate greed.

The rise of the competitive rival, Marvel Rivals (with 40 million downloads since December), has undeniably impacted Blizzard's approach. Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller acknowledges the intensified competition, describing the situation as "exciting" and emphasizing that Blizzard is no longer "playing it safe."

Despite the positive shift, it's premature to declare Overwatch 2's complete comeback. The Steam reviews remain a mixed bag, and sustaining this momentum will be challenging. However, Season 15 has resulted in a noticeable increase in concurrent players on Steam, nearly doubling 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) are unavailable. For comparison, Marvel Rivals boasts 305,816 peak concurrent players on Steam.