Summary
- Marvel Rivals has been a smash-hit since its initial launch in December of last year.
- That success has put “pressure” on the team behind Overwatch 2 to match its success.
- In recent days, Overwatch 2 has announced the return of loot boxes, among other changes, all in the hope of gaining some more market share.
At this point, it’s no secret that Marvel Rivals has had one successful run since its initial launch at the end of 2024. The free-to-play hero shooter managed to crack just under half a million concurrent players on Steam during its launch. Then, in early January, it smashed its own record by attracting over 600,000 gamers.
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NetEase Games’ commitment to a new hero every six weeks, on top of regular promotions, including a recent one involving Captain America: Brave New World, have players sticking around in droves.
That, admittedly, has put the developers behind Overwatch 2 under some high pressure.
It’s A Head-To-Head Battle
In an interview with GamesRadar, game director Aaron Keller spoke candidly about the success of arguably Overwatch’s biggest piece of competition and how his team is looking to respond.
“There is pressure on the Overwatch team, and a lot of it is internal. It’s [asking] how do we make the best possible game that we can? And we’ve been feeling it for a while.”
To answer that pressure, Overwatch 2 has announced some rather sweeping changes, including the return of loot boxes, plus news of hero perks and a new game mode, among other announcements. All of that seems in response to a near 40 percent drop in player count since Rivals’ launch.
But if you ask Keller, competition is a good thing. “There’s actually something kind of exciting about this, for a few reasons,” he explained. Specifically, competition has forced function on his team. “This is no longer about playing it safe,” he affirmed.
To that end, he said what is coming in Season 15 and 16 is anything but playing it safe. Ultimately, only time will tell if it’s enough to win lapsed fans over, as well as bring in new players, but one thing is clear: Marvel Rivals has forced their hand in a way that will create progress.
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