If you were to judge Overwatch 2 as a game by player sentiment on social media, you might think it’s been a failure. But a recent post shows the game may be anything but that.
In a Jan. 23 post on Twitter/X, a user found some new information about OW2 via the Linkedin page of former Blizzard VP and head of marketing Sam Saliba. On the page, Saliba’s Blizzard section has some interesting metrics about OW2.
“Exceeded forecast and KPIs (key performance indicators) by 130 percent by leading integrated launch of Overwatch 2 game, which resulted in number one trending on Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and Google Search, and drove over 50 million active users and $225 million in revenue,” the page says. “Presented launch plans to 17,000 employees.”
That active user number may be out of date, but it’s still quite impressive, as is the generation of revenue. But the latter should be no surprise as OW2 features multiple paid additions that the original game did not, including battle passes every few months, constant new bundles in the store, and more.
The transition to free-to-play and decision to make OW2 into a sequel as opposed to a large-scale update was met with criticism by many, especially considering items like skins and other cosmetics that used to be earned through gameplay are now found at high prices in the in-game store.
Things are looking up for esports fans, too. The OW2 professional scene is looking to make a comeback in 2024 with the newly-announced Overwatch Champions Series after dismantling the Overwatch League at the end of 2023.
Overwatch 2’s current season added a new hero, Mauga, and other improvements. The game’s next season is scheduled to make changes to Competitive Play, as well as some potentially game-changing tweaks to both tanks and damage heroes.
