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It was clear from the jump that Marvel Rivals was looking to dethrone Overwatch. The game delivers team-based 5v5 gameplay, with a focus on synergising heroes and their abilities to win the map objective, with a focus on competitive gameplay. As it turns out, Marvel Rivals may well have succeeded.
Marvel Rivals was a hit from day-one, amassing millions of players following its launch in December 2024. Where did many of those players come from? Overwatch – at least according to the games market analysts at NewZoo.
According to their latest industry report, 45 percent of the Overwatch 2 players who stopped playing in December 2024 did move over to Marvel Rivals instead. I have to say, this is true within my own circle of friends too, where former Overwatch die-hards are now regularly logging hours on Marvel Rivals instead, so I have little trouble believing this figure.
As spotted by Insider Gaming, the report also notes that despite only releasing in December, Marvel Rivals had the eighth highest total playtime of any game on Steam in 2024.
Blizzard has previously addressed the increased pressure the Overwatch team now faces, admitting that Overwatch 2 had ‘not evolved' as much as it should have. Following Marvel Rivals' success, Blizzard has been trying to bring players back in with events like Overwatch: Classic, bringing back the old 6v6 game mode with two tanks per team.
KitGuru Says: Free to Play games now dominate the console and PC gaming markets, not just the mobile space. Once established, it is incredibly difficult to dethrone one of these titles. The interesting thing will be whether or not Blizzard can really win players back without starting over again with an Overwatch 3.
