Overwatch 2 User Reviews Rally with Positive Shift

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 release and two and a half years after Overwatch 2's launch, the game is seeing a shift in player sentiment. The initial backlash, largely fueled by controversial monetization practices and the cancellation of the highly anticipated PvE Hero mode, resulted in overwhelmingly negative reviews.

However, Season 15 has injected new life into the game. While the overall Steam rating remains "mostly negative," recent reviews show a significant improvement to "mixed," with 43% of the 5,325 reviews submitted in the last 30 days being positive. This is a remarkable turnaround given the game's history of negativity on the platform.

The positive shift is attributed to significant gameplay changes introduced in Season 15, including the addition of hero perks and the return of loot boxes. Player feedback reflects this, with recent reviews praising the return to core mechanics reminiscent of the original Overwatch, while also appreciating the new features.

Overwatch 2 Season 15 Screenshots

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The rise of the competing title, Marvel Rivals, with its 40 million downloads, has also influenced Blizzard's approach. Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller acknowledged the intensified competition, stating that Blizzard is adopting a more proactive and less risk-averse strategy.

While the "mixed" Steam rating suggests a challenging path to widespread positivity, Season 15 has undeniably boosted player numbers on the platform, with peak concurrent players nearly doubling to 60,000. It's important to note that these figures only represent Steam; the game's overall player base across Battle.net, PlayStation, and Xbox remains undisclosed. For comparison, Marvel Rivals boasts significantly higher concurrent player counts on Steam (305,816).

The future of Overwatch 2 remains uncertain, but Season 15's impact is undeniable, marking a notable shift in the game's trajectory.