Following 'Marvel Rivals,' Overwatch Experiences a Decline in Concurrent Players on Steam
Following 'Marvel Rivals,' Overwatch Experiences a Decline in Concurrent Players on Steam
Great artists borrow, outstanding artists swipe. This could potentially shed light on the incredible achievement of Marvel Rivals, which shares several similarities with Overwatch but manages to stand out thanks to its roster of Marvel superheroes and villains, thus subtly usurping Overwatch's position in the market.
Marvel Rivals is pulling in an impressive 400,000 players a night on Steam and has also maintained a top spot on PlayStation and Xbox. Unfortunately, we don't have as much data on Overwatch, but the trends suggest a not-so-bright future.
One of the most telling data points is its performance on Steam. While most players tend to access the game through the Blizzard launcher, the game's continued decline on this platform suggests a more widespread issue.
As of now, Overwatch appears to be heading towards its lowest player count ever. In December, its peak was alarmingly close to a record low, missing the mark by a mere few thousand players. However, it's worth noting that Overwatch introduced a new character just over a month prior to this.
Marvel Rivals didn't cause an immediate crash when it was released on December 6, but the downward trend that started then continued without any sign of stopping. In a week or so, it might even reach that record low.
Another metric to consider is the most-played Xbox games, where Marvel Rivals is currently in 8th place, making it the only new game that isn't a sports title, Call of Duty, or a timeless favorite like Fortnite, Roblox, or Minecraft. Meanwhile, Overwatch is sitting in 19th place, behind Forza Horizon 5 and Ark: Survival Ascended. On PS5, Marvel Rivals is in the top 10 and at the 10th spot specifically, with all other titles being established franchises. As expected, we don't have data beyond the top 10, so Overwatch is unfortunately not included.
While it's not fair to say that Marvel Rivals has entirely wiped out Overwatch or something along those lines, Rivals, paired with Path of Exile 2, is posing some serious competition for Blizzard's two most renowned franchises, Overwatch and Diablo 4. Overwatch, being quite old at this point, didn't see great success with its "Overwatch 2" relaunch. Marvel Rivals, on the other hand, is about to release its first major season, adding four brand-new characters (The Fantastic Four), while Overwatch continues to add only one new character per season. It's obvious that NetEase is not slowing down.
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The success of Marvel Rivals on various platforms, outperforming Overwatch in some areas, has led to speculations about Marvel Rivals becoming the new marvel in the market, potentially rivaling Overwatch's position. Despite Overwatch introducing a new character, Marvel Rivals has maintained its position in the top ranks, further distinguishing itself as a formidable rival.