Overwatch 2 Reaches Twenty-Five Million Players in First Ten Days

[Lumy]

Overwatch 2 Reaches Twenty-Five Million Players in First Ten Days
In a new press release on October 14, Activision Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2 has reached over 25 million players within 10 days of release. The Overwatch 2 Team has issued a thank you to all the players that support the game, and to make up for the game's launch, several Double Match XP weekends will be run. Additionally, players who log in from October 25 through to the end of Season One will receive the Cursed Captain Reaper Legendary skin and a Health Pack Weapon Charm.

The sequel to the team-based shooter sets a new Overwatch record, with peak daily players almost triple that of the original game through its first ten days

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 14, 2022-- Overwatch 2, Blizzard Entertainment’s cross-platform and free-to-play team-based action game, has seen over twenty-five million heroes join the fight in the first ten days since its launch on Windows^® PC via Battle.net^®, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation^®5, PlayStation^®4, and Nintendo Switch^™ consoles. The game has proven to be a global phenomenon, already achieving a daily player base spread near-even across EMEA, Asia, and the Americas that’s nearly triple the previous daily player peak from the original Overwatch.

“The launch of Overwatch 2 has been such an important moment for Blizzard. We’re thrilled to bring new players from around the world into Overwatch’s vibrant universe while welcoming back the existing Blizzard community,” said Mike Ybarra, president of Blizzard Entertainment. “This is only the beginning—there are so many possibilities to explore in the world of Overwatch, and we cannot wait for players to experience everything the team is building for the live game.”

The newest Support hero to join the roster, Kiriko, has been a popular pick in matches so far, with players having successfully charged and unleashed her Kitsune Rush ultimate ability over two million times in the first week alone. Also new to Overwatch 2 is cross-platform progression, a new five-versus-five multiplayer format, six new maps, the new Push game mode, a new ping system, a redesigned competitive mode, updated appearances for every hero, numerous hero ability kit reworks, updated graphics and audio engines, and much more.

The launch is just the first step in the future of Overwatch. Overwatch 2 will receive regular seasonal updates, often including new heroes, maps, game modes, and cosmetics—read about it all at PlayOverwatch.com. Planned to begin rolling out next year, release plans will be announced at a later date for the game’s much-anticipated PvE mode.

A Thank You to Players

As a thank you to players for their enduring support, any player who logs in from October 25 through to the end of Season One will receive an all-new Cursed Captain Reaper Legendary skin and a Health Pack Weapon Charm! Additionally, players can expect to earn double match XP on the following weekends:

• Starting October 21 at 11:00 a.m. PT, ending October 24 at 11:00 a.m. PT
• Starting October 28 at 11:00 a.m. PT, ending October 31 at 11:00 a.m. PT
• Starting November 24 at 11:00 a.m. PT, ending November 28 at 11:00 a.m. PT

About Overwatch 2

An optimistic vision of near-future Earth, Overwatch 2 is about a world worth fighting for, where super soldiers, scientists, cyborgs, and omnics clash for control of real-world-inspired locations from around the globe. Featuring 35 unique heroes—each armed with potent abilities and weaponry—battling across a variety of lively maps and locales, where players must work together and adapt to a variety of unique situations.

Overwatch 2 features a new in-game shop, a free Battle Pass for all players, and a purchasable Premium Battle Pass for each season. Both the free and paid Battle Pass tracks for Season One feature cyber punk-themed items such as skins, weapon charms, victory poses, highlight intros, sprays, player icons, and voice lines. The Season One Premium Battle Pass also includes a Mythic skin for Genji—a customizable new skin tier for Overwatch 2.

Media Assets:

- Overwatch 2 Logo: https://blizzard.gamespress.com/Over...2#?tab=logos-3
- Screenshots: https://blizzard.gamespress.com/Overwatch-2-Launch

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone®, Overwatch®, the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, and the multifranchise Heroes of the Storm®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's track record includes twenty-three #1 games^* and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online gaming service, Battle.net^®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

^*Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and reports from key distributors.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the features and functionality of Overwatch 2, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

[Dasn]

haters on sui watch

[Allegresse]

Considering every OW 1 player had no choice, this means nothing really

[loras]

So if you bought OW1 do you need to buy this aswell, like an expansion pack or new game?

Because i might get interested sooner or later, and i'd like to know what i should expect of this.

[chrisisvacant]

So if you bought OW1 do you need to buy this aswell, like an expansion pack or new game?

Because i might get interested sooner or later, and i'd like to know what i should expect of this.

No. It's FTP. You can no longer access OW1. You'll download and play OW2 when you try to log in, etc.

[trapmaster]

This game is hardly enjoyable anymore :-\

[loras]

No. It's FTP. You can no longer access OW1. You'll download and play OW2 when you try to log in, etc.

Ah, good enough.
Is it pay to win now or something?
Or still just cosmetics?

[Kellorion]

And reached 6 players who actually got to play

[Demontjuh]

Ah, good enough.
Is it pay to win now or something?
Or still just cosmetics?

no more bought lootboxes(no levelup boxes either), pay 10euro/dollar to unlock premium which gives you skins/new-heroes/sprays/etc when you level/tier up the current season.
if you are free to play you get trash ever 4~levels/tiers.

gameplay wise its worse then OW1, some maps are a walking simulator then you die to the few heroes who easily 1shot you with random hits and walk again.

[Derpules]

I wonder if they'd post activity numbers from days 11-20... Besides the cluttered UI/screen, I enjoy the game with exception to push mode... It's like the M.C. Escher stairs artwork.

[Mendzia]

Comparing F2P game to P2P... very surprising, indeed...

[RobertMugabe]

Really impressive considering how much of a shitshow the release and the development has been so far.

[Voidling]

In a new press release on October 14, Activision Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2 has reached over 25 million players within 10 days of release

It's a free to play with an established player base so we already knew the player count would be high.
What would be more telling would be the average play-time. Nearly everyone i know put at most an hour into it, so that data is a lot more telling of the state of the product.

[Jester Joe]

gameplay wise its worse then OW1, some maps are a walking simulator then you die to the few heroes who easily 1shot you with random hits and walk again.

Barriers for days was not more enjoyable than OW2 is, at all.
There's a reason why the common consensus has been OW2 is a big improvement for actual gameplay.

[Arlette]

Its cool that websites like this are doing fluff pieces on stuff like the f2p game having more players than the 40 dollar buy-in game (shocker) and not stuff like another round of sexual harassment lawsuit news is also happening at the same time.

[Eapoe]

To those wondering:

So far it has been fun. I’m not sure if I was part of the bug that started me in a lower tier than I should have been, or if I was placed that low for being away for so long. That stated, I started at Bronze 1, then moved to Silver 4, then Sil 2, then up to Gold 4, and now Gold 3. The toxicity from OW1, which lead me to eventually quit, started rearing its ugly head again when I hit gold. It’s not every game, but I definitely notice it now.

Stuns are almost non existent. Ana still has her sleep dart. Rein has his Ult slam. Gone are the days of Cassidy’s flashbang & Brig’s shield bash.

Characters are definitely different than when I last played. Sombra seems incredibly strong in capable hands. Genji is back to high level annoyance with the absence of most of the stuns. Some characters seem stronger than they used to. As examples.

There are no more loot boxes, which is nice; but, I am not a fan of the battle pass. Having heroes locked behind it, even just being Kiriko for me since I played OW1, is annoying. Especially because if you want to get them earlier than just grinding out wins you need to pay for an updated version. It’s not quite P2W, as you don’t need those heroes to enjoy the game, but it’s definitely pretty douche-baggery in my opinion.

Overall, it’s pretty fun, and if you like OW1 and are on the fence about trying it out then I’d definitely recommend it. Just keep in mind that the toxic players are still around (even though it doesn’t seem AS problematic as it was), and it’s still the same game as OW1 so far.

[Airlick]

What would be more telling would be the average play-time. Nearly everyone i know put at most an hour into it, so that data is a lot more telling of the state of the product.

I dunno how the player distribution between game modes looks like, but there can't be that many players. I've been meeting same people in QP all the time, and not just in the next game after meeting them the first time (that would be somewhat understandable), but over a couple of days. I've seen one guy like 5 times. And this is just people I remembered. Has to be worse in ranked, which is usually the less played mode and with stricter matchmaking.

[Jester Joe]

I dunno how the player distribution between game modes looks like, but there can't be that many players. I've been meeting same people in QP all the time, and not just in the next game after meeting them the first time (that would be somewhat understandable), but over a couple of days. I've seen one guy like 5 times. And this is just people I remembered. Has to be worse in ranked, which is usually the less played mode and with stricter matchmaking.

Meanwhile, I've only seen people in consecutive matches in mystery heroes. Everyone else is completely new each match.


Doesn't really mean much

[Drusin]

gameplay wise its worse then OW1

Agree

/10ults

[Sinured]

only 25 million? this is 2022 not 2011.
thats literally worse than immortal.