Alarm Bells Ring at Blizzard: New Marvel Rivals Record Shows Just How Badly Outmatched Overwatch 2 Is in 2025

The last couple of weeks have been a complete nightmare for Blizzard and Overwatch 2, and it’s all due to the release of Marvel Rivals. Blizzard thought that Marvel Rivals, the so-called “clone” of Overwatch, wouldn’t stand a chance and be yet another Concord-level failure.

Marvel Rivals is one of the biggest success stories in the gaming industry. (Image via NetEase Games)

However, the complete opposite happened. Not only did Marvel Rivals prove to be a smash hit, but it also stole Overwatch 2‘s entire player base. While Blizzard might think that the hype for its rival hero shooter will eventually die down, new reports suggest that’s not happening anytime soon.

Marvel Rivals is still going strong as it keeps 93% of playerbase

In the past couple of years, we’ve seen a trend with live-service titles. They start off huge with thousands of players and then see a sudden drop. Then, it’s all about hardcore fans sticking to the game and trying out new things.

However, that’s not the case with Marvel Rivals, as its launch period hype shows no signs of slowing down. Over on SteamDB, we see how the title has been performing since its release in December. At the start of the game’s season 0, it hit an all-time peak of 480,000. What’s surprising is that on the final day of season 0, it peaked at 445,7343 players.

This means that Marvel Rivals was able to retain 93% of its all-time peak player base over season 0, which is truly mind-boggling for any live-service game in this day and age where the industry is filled with competitors. Industry experts believed that the NetEase Games title would be a massive failure, but here we are.

Marvel Rivals‘ success proves that a combination of engaging gameplay, accessible content, and polished mechanics in a live-service format can be an absolute hit if done right. Let’s hope that NetEase can carry the current momentum with new modes, characters, and a PvE mode in future updates.

Fans believe they’ve found the next Marvel Rivals hero

Gamers have various theories about what the next hero could be in the hero shooter. (Image via NetEase Games)

Many Marvel Rivals fans believe that they’ve uncovered a big clue about a future playable character in Season 1’s brand-new Sanctum Sanctorum map.

According to one Redditor, there’s a painting of Doctor Strange’s assistant Wong that can be spotted in the official trailer for the new map. Judging by the painting, it looks like he’s been inspired by his MCU version. While NetEase hasn’t said anything yet, players believe Wong will be added to the game’s roster soon.

Even though Wong has been an integral part of Doctor Strange comics since the 1960s, his popularity has surged in recent years thanks to Benedict Wong’s portrayal of the character in MCU.

We’ve seen Wong as a non-playable character in many titles, such as 2006’s Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, before becoming a playable character in titles such as Marvel Snap.

It’s crucial to take Wong’s appearance in the trailer with a grain of salt. The painting could just be a nod to Strange’s most valuable allies, as the Sanctum Sanctorum map is filled with various cameos and references.

With that said, do you think it’s time for Overwatch 2 to learn from Marvel Rivals? Let us know in the comments below.