Overwatch beats “dying” accusations, sees highest player count since launch of sequel

Overwatch added Jetpack Cat and the rest is history.

Overwatch just saw its largest player count since its launch, following a very dramatic showcase. On February 5th, Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2 was dropping the “2” and essentially reverting back to the way things used to be in the first Overwatch game. Season 1 will launch on February 10th, bringing five new heroes and tons of new features.

However, Anran is currently available to play as part of a hero trial — and Overwatch players have apparently decided now was the time to drop Marvel Rivals and return.

Overwatch sees huge rise in player count on Steam

Overwatch reached nearly 69,000 players over the last 24 hours, according to SteamDB. This is the highest player count the game has had since its launch, which had 75,600 players.

It’s a pretty notable turnaround for Overwatch, which has continued to struggle since dropping the sequel. The 5v5 team compositions frustrated competitive players (and pro players) while the lack of single-player content left fans feeling betrayed. Overwatch 2 was on the path toward being a “dead game” in the eyes of gamers, especially once Marvel Rivals came out.

Now, Overwatch has more active players than Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6.

It will be interesting to see if these numbers stick, however. There’s a possibility we could see even higher numbers once Season 1 launches. Or players could be disappointed and the hype vanishes. Only time will tell for now.

Overwatch remains “Mixed” on Steam, with only 27% of reviews considered positive.