A chorus of disillusioned Overwatch fans erupted during the first Marvel Rivals beta. Like a mob with pitchforks raised, they crowded the gallows and cheered on the death of Blizzard’s once-treasured hero shooter. Its time had come — Rivals was the new king.
It was easy to get swept up in the rush, joining the chants of people calling for Overwatch’s demise, especially after the tumultuous and disappointing release of Overwatch 2. PvE plans were abandoned, a lukewarm live-service model stripped it bare, and sweeping changes that undermined what once made it so great had it marked from day one.
But Overwatch doesn’t need to die for Rivals to take its place, and it’s this mob mentality that encapsulates everything wrong with the live-service space. Where once we’d celebrate a new game entering the arena, excited to see competitors duke it out and come out of the other end battered, but stronger, we now clamour for a duel to the death.
Marvel Rivals Can Push Overwatch 2 To Be Better
Rivals is, more realistically, Overwatch’s equal. Unlike Paladins before it, it captured the hearts of Overwatch fans at a perfect moment in the game’s history, when players were longing for its golden years. Some will find that spark in Rivals, while others will begrudgingly go back to Overwatch, finding it doesn’t quite scratch the same itch.
Rivals is a lifeline for those who stubbornly clung on hoping for Overwatch to get better after years of meandering, and those who left long ago and never looked back. It won’t ‘kill’ the game: Blizzard is a behemoth, especially under Activision and Microsoft, while Overwatch is a live-service staple at this point. But Rivals will leave a noticeable mark.
Overwatch 2 Was Stagnating
That mark will prove crucial because Overwatch will never improve in a vacuum. As is the way with live-service games, it dominated the market and trapped players in its ecosystem with no alternative for nearly a decade. Those who enjoyed the core gameplay loop, as annoyed as they might get, would always return. So, it stagnated, dug its heels into the mud, and refused to change, all while raking in millions of dollars.
Shareholders are unlikely to care about backlash when the game continues to be a resounding success. Money talks louder than disgruntled gamers.
Rivals, which has proven itself more than a passing fad, is now a challenger who could pull some of those players away, fittingly becoming a hero shooter rival. Inevitably, that will push Overwatch to be better. This is how games have always grown, it’s how genres form and trends sink in. We saw it very recently with the battle royale boom, where only those willing to adapt were able to survive and carve out a niche. Today we enjoy the stark differences between Apex Legends, Fortnite, and PUBG because of it.
Overwatch hasn’t had competition in far too long, meaning there has been no real drive to do better. Instead of rooting for Rivals to finally usurp it, only to inevitably suffer the same fate, we should be glad for Overwatch to have a competitor that pushes it to be better. The future of gaming can’t be left to a few live-service juggernauts who squashed the competition, or everything will start to look like Overwatch 2.
Third-Person Shooter
Action
Multiplayer
- Released
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December 6, 2024
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Violence
- Developer(s)
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NetEase Games
- Publisher(s)
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NetEase Games