After Becoming the Worst User-Reviewed Game Ever on Steam, Overwatch 2’s Recent Reviews Jump to ‘Mixed’

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 seeing a shift in player sentiment. The initial backlash, stemming from controversial monetization practices and the cancellation of the highly anticipated PvE Hero mode, led to 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 from the past 30 days being positive. This positive shift is attributed to substantial gameplay changes introduced in Season 15, including the addition of hero perks and the return of loot boxes.

Overwatch 2 Season 15 Screenshots

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Player feedback reflects this change, with recent positive reviews praising the update as a return to the core gameplay that made the original Overwatch successful. The introduction of new mechanics is also lauded.

The rise of Marvel Rivals, a competing hero shooter with over 40 million downloads, has also impacted Blizzard's approach to Overwatch 2. Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller acknowledged the increased competition, stating that Blizzard is adopting a more proactive and less risk-averse strategy.

While the game's future remains uncertain, and achieving a consistently positive rating on Steam remains a challenge, Season 15 has demonstrably boosted player numbers on the platform, nearly doubling peak concurrent players to 60,000. It's important to note that these figures only reflect Steam data; overall player counts across all platforms remain undisclosed. In contrast, Marvel Rivals boasts significantly higher concurrent player numbers on Steam, reaching 305,816 in the last 24 hours. The success of Season 15, however, offers a glimmer of hope for the future of Overwatch 2.