Numbers show Marvel Rivals may have finally killed Overwatch 2
Judging by player counts, Overwatch 2 might finally be dying and it’s Marvel Rivals that killed it.
The hero shooter genre is an immensely crowded one. In this era of publishers releasing live-service multiplayer games first and asking questions later, there’s a mass grave of abandoned games that just keeps getting more crowded.
Overwatch 2, despite being a constant source of controversy and frustration, has been a constant among first-person shooters. That might finally be changing, though. In the days immediately after Marvel Rivals’ release, Overwatch 2’s player count has plummeted. Does this mean that Blizzard’s long-running shooter is finally about to meet its end?
Is Overwatch 2 dying due to Marvel Rivals?
Marvel Rivals has enjoyed a very high player count since launch, and it could be contributing to a recent downturn in Overwatch 2’s popularity.
Marvel Rivals officially launched on the night of December 5, 2024 and instantly became one of the biggest games on Steam. Over its debut weekend and in the days after, it maintained a player count that bounced between roughly 200,000 and 400,000 concurrent players at any given time. These numbers only account for Steam; no exact player counts are made publicly visible for consoles.
During this time, Overwatch 2 has seen a marked drop. Per SteamDB, Overwatch 2 has had an average player count between 50,000 and 60,000 each Saturday throughout late 2024. On December 7, the first Saturday following Marvel Rivals’ release, the game averaged below 40,000 players.
Overwatch 2 also saw a drop in player count immediately after the release of Marvel Rivals, though this also coincided with the end of Overwatch 2’s Spellbinder mid-cycle event. The fact that Overwatch 2’s player count remained steady over the weekend, however, is a worrying turn of events.
As with Marvel Rivals’ player count, these numbers only account for Overwatch 2’s popularity on Steam. It doesn’t include players on consoles or those who are still playing Overwatch 2 on PC through Battle.net. The dip of roughly 20-30% since Marvel Rivals’ release may not be consistent across all platforms.
Regardless, what data there is available hints that Overwatch 2’s player count is being cut into by Marvel Rivals deeply.
Overwatch 2 player count seemingly sliding regardless of Marvel Rivals
Overwatch 2’s player count on Steam has seemingly reversed course after a steady rise since its 2023 release.
Overwatch 2 controversially launched on Steam in August 2023 amid a major shakeup within Blizzard that included shutting down the Overwatch League and laying off numerous individuals affiliated with Overwatch esports. This came after Blizzard admitted that the game’s player count was suffering
The game has seen a slow, steady ride in its player count since then. It averaged roughly 18,000 players in September 2023 and crept its way above 35,000 average players a year later in September 2024. Momentum suffered with small declines in the following October and November, but Marvel Rivals looks to be accelerating that decline. The Steam player counts aren’t the full story for either Marvel Rivals or Overwatch 2, but they’re a valuable piece of data that could foretell a larger issue.
Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.
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