Marvel Rivals Draws Away Nearly Half of Overwatch 2’s Player Base
|
|
Key points
- Research by NewZoo states that 45% of Overwatch 2 players who stopped playing in December 2024 switched to Marvel Rivals.
- Marvel Rivals features an all-time peak of 644,269 players while Overwatch 2’s all-time peak is 75,608.
- Unlike Marvel Rivals Overwatch 2 is playable on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch besides PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Almost half of the players who fell off Overwatch 2 in December 2024 are now playing Marvel Rivals, according to NewZoo’s recent gaming industry report.
Research by NewZoo states that 45% of Overwatch 2 players who stopped playing in December 2024 switched to Marvel Rivals. Overwatch 2 experienced a significant surge in daily active users when it debuted in early access in October 2022, but its numbers gradually declined over the following year and a half. After remaining stagnant throughout 2024, the game’s player count dropped further in December, coinciding with the launch of Marvel Rivals. While the Overwatch: Classic Event temporarily boosted engagement by 12%, this was followed by a 26% drop in players, which also aligned with Marvel Rivals’ release.
Despite launching at the end of 2024 (Dec. 6), Marvel Rivals became one of the year’s most-played games. It secured the eighth-highest share of total playtime on Steam for 2024 and ranked third among all 2024 releases, trailing only Helldivers 2 and Palworld. Among the most-played free-to-play games released in 2024 across Steam, PS5, and Xbox, Marvel Rivals stands out as the only title that hasn’t been shut down or fallen by more than 90% from its peak monthly active users.
In 2024, the playtime of free-to-play games reportedly saw an increase, with Marvel Rivals playing a significant role in that growth. Among new releases, Marvel Rivals was the second-largest contributor to the rise in free-to-play game playtime, just behind The First Descendant.
It is worth noting that as of the time of writing, according to Steam DB, Marvel Rivals featured an all-time peak of 644,269 players, while Overwatch 2’s all-time peak was 75,608 users.
Marvel Rivals and Overwatch 2 are both free-to-play, team-based, third-person shooters developed by NetEase Games and Blizzard Entertainment consequently. Both titles are available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, but Overwatch 2 is also playable on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
