'I Don't Think What You're Seeing is a Response' Overwatch…

Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller recently said that, while Marvel Rivals has provided healthy competition for it, none of the recent features it has launched were developed in response to it. The superhero shooter lit a fire under Overwatch 2 in many ways, but it has not forced Blizzard to develop anything it wasn’t already working on.

When Marvel Rivals officially launched on December 6, 2024, all eyes were on Overwatch 2. NetEase’s take on the hero genre shooter borrowed heavily from the Blizzard classic, allowing Marvel Rivals to innovate on things that Overwatch 2 still struggles with. In the following months, Overwatch 2 proceeded to release a series of successful seasons that introduced major features, such as Perks, Stadium, Hero Bans, and Map Voting.

marvel rivals eventually forced embrace dead overwatch concept

Marvel Rivals' May Eventually Be Forced to Embrace a Dead Overwatch Concept

Marvel Rivals has followed in the footsteps of Overwatch's success, but there could be one abandoned OW concept that it can make its own.

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By Chris Nicholls

However, Overwatch 2 has now asserted that its recent successes are not because of Marvel Rivals. Several developers and voice actors recently appeared on Jay3’s stream to play Stadium and chat. Near the end of their discussions, Hazard voice actor Conor McLeod asked Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller if Marvel Rivals has pushed it to find success. “I’ve got a no-yes to that,” Keller said. "I think competition is healthy. It does force people to innovate more, to always put your best foot forward,” he admitted, “But I don’t think what you’re seeing in Overwatch right now is a response to Rivals. So much of what we were doing this year, from Perks to Stadium to Map Voting… that’s been in the works for over a year as a new strategy for the game.”

Competition Between Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals

That said, Keller did admit that Marvel Rivals lit a fire under Overwatch 2 that was hot enough to affect its release schedule. According to his testimony, Hero Bans were moved up by “a season or two,” ostensibly because Marvel Rivals has it for high-ranking competitive matches. Even so, Hero Bans were always in the works; Marvel Rivals coming out did not spark their development otherwise.

Some fans are skeptical of Keller’s words, saying the timing of Overwatch 2’s big swings is too convenient for it to not be a response to Marvel Rivals. That said, game development cycles take much longer than a few months. Complex systems like Perks and Stadium simply must have been cooking for over a year, making it nearly impossible to attribute them to Marvel Rivals’ successful release, even if it influenced aspects or release schedules. Still, it is obvious that the competition has been good for both games, and has spurred them both on to continue making innovations. “It’s maybe not always the most comfortable for the game team,” Keller agreed, “but I can see how the competition is healthy.”

I think competition is healthy. It does force people to innovate more, to always put your best foot forward. But I don’t think what you’re seeing in Overwatch right now is a response to Rivals. So much of what we were doing this year, from Perks to Stadium to Map Voting… that’s been in the works for over a year as a new strategy for the game.

Nevertheless, it is clear Overwatch 2 is gearing up for some big stuff for the rest of this year and into 2026. Earlier in the play session, Keller said the team was “ramping up” from Season 18 onwards, and hinted at some big things for both the game and universe of Overwatch 2. “It could be,” Keller teased, “that as we start getting further and further that maybe people see even bigger things out of the team in order for us to be competing.”

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