Overwatch used to be one of Blizzards most valuable franchises, and now its not.
Overwatchs success is a hard thing to replicate.
If this was a first-person shooter, where was the military perspective?
If this was a PvP game, where was the emphasis on K/D ratios?
Some didnt want a sequel.
Others had already moved on.
Its sequel is currentlySteams second-worst game of all timeaccording to user ratings.
How on Earth did we get here?
Upon Titans cancellation, its development team had a mere six weeks to pitch new game ideas to Blizzard.
Remember:DOTA 2was only released in 2013, the same year in which Titan was axed.
Overwatch was and still is a big deal for Blizzard.
He also voices Bastion in the game, which technically makes him part of Overwatchs current voice cast.
Overwatch was a phenomenon in the months leading up to and following its release.
Big successes and small controversies
Was Overwatch a success for Blizzard?
A lot of people were playing Overwatch, and a lot of people were spending money doing it.
There arguably hasnt been a single moment in Overwatchs history that the game could be considered truly balanced.
That was doable in competitive play, but a shift towards esports made things more complicated.
A few things got in the way of its success immediately.
Firstly, very few of these teams actually had players from the cities they were named after.
Viewership declined and excitement around the 2020 season dwindled without in-person events to support it.
Personally, I hold DJ Khaled responsible.
In 2018, Overwatch got six whole new maps.
Overwatch cycled through repetitive annual events and the game lost its mainstream luster quickly.
All that was left for players to look forward to were new skins to pull out of lootboxes.
In 2016, Overwatch took the world by storm.
Overwatch 2 made sizeable tweaks to PvP gameplay (new heroes, 5v5 teams!
), but that wasnt enough to make it feel as innovative as the original.
The games big hook - its PvE story missions - didnt even drop until August 2023.
Conclusion
Blizzard pulled a phoenix out of the ashes with Overwatch.
Overwatch 2was Blizzards attempt to revive an important franchise in its portfolio.
