Summary
At this point, it’s no secret thatMarvel Rivalshas had one successful run since its initial launch at the end of 2024. The free-to-play hero shooter managedto crack just under half a million concurrent players on Steam during its launch. Then,in early January, it smashed its own record by attracting over 600,000 gamers.
NetEase Games' commitment to a new hero every six weeks, on top of regular promotions, includinga recent one involving Captain America: Brave New World, have players sticking around in droves.
That, admittedly, has put the developers behindOverwatch 2under some high pressure.
In an interview with GamesRadar, game director Aaron Keller spoke candidly about the success of arguably Overwatch’s biggest piece of competition and how his team is looking to respond.
“There is pressure on the Overwatch team, and a lot of it is internal. It’s [asking] how do we make the best possible game that we can? And we’ve been feeling it for a while.”
To answer that pressure,Overwatch 2 has announced some rather sweeping changes,including the return of loot boxes, plusnews of hero perks and a new game mode, among other announcements. All of that seemsin response to a near 40 percent drop in player count since Rivals' launch.
But if you ask Keller, competition is a good thing. “There’s actually something kind of exciting about this, for a few reasons,” he explained. Specifically, competition has forced function on his team. “This is no longer about playing it safe,” he affirmed.
To that end, he said what is coming in Season 15 and 16 is anything but playing it safe. Ultimately, only time will tell if it’s enough to win lapsed fans over, as well as bring in new players, but one thing is clear: Marvel Rivals has forced their hand in a way that will create progress.
