Overwatch is back, recovering from its slump and then some. With today's update, which makes the game officially release the title Overwatch 2, a new concurrent player record has been set, and it's enough to overtake Marvel Rivals.
At the time of writing, 126,774 players are online on Steam alone. It doesn't take into account anyone playing through another launcher or on console. This is the most players at once since Overwatch launched on Steam in 2023, making the rebrand back to Overwatch even bigger than the launch of Overwatch 2.
Overwatch 2 Is Dead, Long Live Overwatch
The number of players is increasing by thousands as I write this, so it is very likely that we will see the record pushed overnight. Meanwhile, Marvel Rivals still has a respectable 78,593 players online via Steam right now, but Overwatch has a very clear lead.
Judging by the concurrent player stats, this is the first time Overwatch has ever accomplished this. Marvel Rivals hasn't seen the falls that Overwatch has, consistently pulling in far more people at once. But now, if Overwatch can hold on to enough of its new and returning players, then it could be up and running again.
This is all thanks to a major shake-up, which has seen Overwatch go back to season one. With this, five new heroes have been added today as well, breathing new life into the roster. Combine that with a major story event that lets players choose sides, and some quality of life updates, and it looks like Blizzard is finally addressing fans' concerns.
But with all these new players, you may struggle to actually get into the game. I've heard the queues are back, so you'll probably be staring at the title screen for a while before you can try any of this new content for yourself. At least it's a shiny new title screen.
We'll have to wait and see where the number of concurrent players evens out. Right now it's still loading when I refresh the page, so we're not at peak yet. We also have the weekend to look forward to, which could raise it even higher, if the momentum is still there.
- Released
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24 May 2016
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Blood, Tobacco Use, Violence (Online Interactions Not Rated)
- Engine
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Proprietary
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- Cross-platform play
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ps5, xbox, pc
- Cross Save
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yes
