Overwatch 2 Season 15: A Resurgence from the Brink?

Overwatch 2, launched two and a half years after its predecessor, faced a tumultuous start. In August 2023, it briefly held the dubious title of Steam's worst-reviewed game ever, largely due to controversies surrounding its monetization and the shift from a premium model to free-to-play. The cancellation of the highly anticipated PvE Hero mode further fueled player discontent.

However, the tide may be turning. While still holding a "mostly negative" overall rating on Steam, Season 15 has injected a significant dose of positivity into recent reviews, pushing the 30-day review average to "mixed," with 43% of the 5,325 reviews being positive. This marks a substantial shift for a game that has endured overwhelmingly negative feedback since its release on the platform.

This turnaround is largely attributed to the sweeping changes introduced in Season 15. While the roadmap continues to promise new content, the core gameplay has undergone a significant overhaul, including the introduction of hero perks and the return of loot boxes. Player feedback reflects this change; recent positive reviews highlight the update as a return to the essence of the original Overwatch, praising the improvements and the renewed focus on gameplay. One review even stated, "They just released Overwatch 2," referring to the transformative nature of the update.

The success of Marvel Rivals, a competing hero shooter boasting 40 million downloads since its December launch, has also impacted Blizzard's approach. In an interview with GamesRadar, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller acknowledged the intensified competition, calling the situation "exciting" and emphasizing that Blizzard is no longer "playing it safe."

Despite the positive shift, it remains too early to declare a full-fledged comeback for Overwatch 2. Steam reviews still exhibit a push and pull, suggesting a challenging path to a consistently positive reception. Nevertheless, Season 15 has undeniably boosted player numbers on Steam, nearly doubling peak concurrent players to 60,000. It's important to note that these figures represent only the Steam player base; overall player counts across Battle.net, PlayStation, and Xbox remain undisclosed. For comparison, Marvel Rivals currently boasts 305,816 peak concurrent players on Steam.

Overwatch 2 Season 15 Screenshots

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