Why Overwatch 2 Will Likely Be Watching Marvel Rivals'…

The mid-season patch for Overwatch 2's 16th season delivered a flurry of updates. In addition to a few balance changes, a Mythic Weapon skin for Mercy, and a collaboration with Street Fighter 6, Blizzard's hero-shooter has also seen the return of the Overwatch Classic event. This time, it features a 6v6 role queue and heroes like Baptiste, Echo, and Sigma joining the fray.

Interestingly, while it's clear that Overwatch 2 is experiencing a surge of momentum, Blizzard will likely be keeping a watchful eye on one of its most prominent competitors, Marvel Rivals, in the coming months. In particular, the third season of NetEase Games' third-person shooter could interest Blizzard's development team because Season 3 marks a crucial transition, where Marvel Rivals shifts from longer three-month seasons to a two-month cycle.

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By Ewan Lewis

Marvel Rivals' Third Season Marks a Pivotal Turning Point

Marvel Rivals Seaon 3 Hero Wish List TheBestWarGames

Overwatch 2 Will Likely Gain Valuable Insight From Marvel Rivals Season 3

Expected to arrive sometime in July, approximately six to seven weeks after Season 2's mid-season update, Marvel Rivals Season 3 will be a significant shift from Seasons 0, 1, and 2. Announced in the developer notes, NetEase Games stated that "after intensive internal discussions and thorough evaluations, [they've] decided that starting from Season 3, the seasons will shift to a two-month format, with a new hero debuting each month." The team explained that the ultimate goal is to keep "the audience's excitement alive, just like in the opening months..."

In earlier seasons, Marvel Rivals introduced new characters much quicker than Overwatch 2, which has traditionally implemented new characters every other season. Soon, NetEase Games will accelerate this pace even further by moving to two new characters per season, with one launching each month. While there’s no shortage of Marvel Comics characters to inspire the developers, it raises the question whether the super-powered hero-shooter can sustain this pace in the long term. Furthermore, although comparisons between Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals are common, it would be wise for Blizzard to watch this development closely.

There is a delicate balance between quantity and quality, and this is a challenge the Overwatch franchise has faced throughout its lifetime. Some players feel that the pace of new hero releases has been too slow. Contrarily, Marvel Rivals may be heading down a slippery slope if it tries to push out too much content too quickly. The game was incredibly popular at launch, and while it remains so, Marvel Rivals has lost some of its casual player base over the past few months.

Overwatch 2 Has Plenty Going For It, Regardless of Hero Output

Regardless of the outcome, Overwatch 2’s team has acknowledged Marvel Rivals and even taken notes from it. This can be seen in Overwatch 2's hero ban system, which was implemented in Season 16. While Game Director Aaron Keller said hero bans were always under consideration, seeing them work effectively in Marvel Rivals was the tipping point Team 4 needed. The reverse is likely true as well, since NetEase Games reportedly drew on some of Overwatch’s visuals and concepts in the early stages of development.

If Marvel Rivals succeeds with its accelerated hero output, Overwatch 2 could consider speeding up its own processes to match. Of course, it is essential to note that Overwatch 2's 2025 content roadmap already appears quite full, and disrupting this delicate balance of content output could do more harm than good. Ultimately, it's up to Blizzard itself to discern what it can handle. With the release of hero bans, a new damage hero, and Stadium mode in Season 16, the game already has plenty of areas to invest in. Additionally, beyond new maps, map voting, and other updates, Aaron Keller has suggested that the team isn’t finished yet, and that even bigger plans are in store for the game in 2026.

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