Summary
For a while, it looked likeMarvel Rivalswas going to eatOverwatch 2’slunch. Rivals hit40 million users in a couple of monthsand held onto those playersat an incredibly impressive rate. Overwatch 2, on the other hand, saw its player count bleed,losing 40 percent over the course of around seven weeks.
After it was revealed thatOverwatch 2’s director put pressure on the team, the Blizzard-developed hero shooter recovered a little following the release of Season 15. ItsSteam reviews moved to “Mixed”, and the game has seena 17 percent increase in players.
While the two are clearly in competition with each other, a recent comment from NetEase in its latestearnings callsuggests the two games can operate in the same space.
The Market Is Large Enough To Accommodate Marvel Rivals And Overwatch 2, Says NetEase
Fielding a question about Overwatch 2’s return to China during the call’s investor Q&A, NetEase said, “Both Marvel Rivals and Overwatch are excellent superhero shooters and are both well-designed and supported by outstanding development teams. We believe the market is large enough to accommodate two excellent games.”
It’s worth noting that NetEase is likely to be hotter on Overwatch 2, given that it isfacilitating the game’s return to Chinaalongside otherBlizzardtitles likeWorld of WarcraftandHearthstone.
NetEase doesn’t plan just to help launch Overwatch 2 in China, though; instead, it says it aims to “revitalize the product and help it reach new highs.”
We believe the market is large enough to accommodate two excellent games.
It was only last week that Blizzard itself came out and made a similar comment about Marvel Rivals, calling the competition between the two titles “really great” and “kind of exciting”.
During the same investor Q&A, NetEase outlined its long-term plans for Marvel Rivals, saying the companyplans to support the game for “ten years and beyond.”
