Marvel Rivals Seems to Have Hurt Overwatch 2 Twitch Numbers

Summary

Marvel Rivals boosted streamer views, overshadowing Overwatch 2's decline.
NetEase's Marvel Rivals surpassed milestones, posing a significant threat to Overwatch 2.

Marvel Rivals is giving streamers a boost in views, compared to Overwatch 2, which has experienced a huge blow over the past month. Releasing on December 5, 2024, Marvel Rivals surprised many gamers by breathing new life into the hero-shooter scene. Although many have become fatigued with the genre, new offerings like Marvel Rivals have kept the hype going.

Although titles like Valve's Deadlock were believed to be the main competition to Overwatch 2, NetEase had been teasing that its big project was just on the horizon. Marvel Rivals released and shortly passed impressive player milestones, putting other recent attempts at the genre like Concord to shame. Marvel Rivals offers gamers a familiar approach to the genre in gameplay with its own set of quirks overall, including a visual design that separates it from the pack. It's become clear over a short amount of time that Marvel Rivals will likely be around much longer than its ill-fated contemporaries.

Marvel Rivals’ Most Viral Character Holds the Key to Making a Controversial Overwatch 2 Concept Work

One of Marvel Rivals' biggest draws recently received their own in-game event, and Overwatch 2 could learn from its competition's approach.

Posts

By Richard Warren

Outlets like Dexerto are reporting a drop in Overwatch 2 stream viewership, and many seem to believe that Marvel Rivals' recent boost in views is the culprit. Although no exact causative effect has been proven, there appears to be a decent correlation between the release of Marvel Rivals and its thriving numbers along with Overwatch 2 taking some big hits. In the last 7 days, Overwatch 2's average views have hit nearly 15k, and Marvel Rivals' count has sat at 84k.

Marvel Rivals Poses a Huge Threat To Overwatch 2

Carver Fisher notes that from November through December 2024, Streamscharts has shown a 10k dip in Overwatch 2's average viewership count, and the game's peak viewership has dropped from 125k to 64k. This is in comparison to Marvel Rivals and its December release, which may make it too early to measure up how many views are rising and falling in long-term trends. However, streamers that have been around for some time are experiencing boosts in viewership after dropping Overwatch 2 for Marvel Rivals.

Gamers like bogur used to have an all-time peak of around 3,400 viewers, but he's shot up to 20,000 after streaming Marvel Rivals. Outside of the general interest that a new title like Marvel Rivals generates, players and viewers alike may just be getting bored with Overwatch 2. Although the game's developers appear to be looking for various new ways to keep the title fresh, like Overwatch 2's Avatar: The Last Airbender collab, the huge competition that Marvel Rivals offers may force Blizzard to find more ways to entice an audience.