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Overwatch 2 developer Blizzard sees Marvel Rivals as competition but insists recent changes aren't in response to its popularity
Overwatch 2 director explained that "competition is healthy" during a recent stream but says new features were planned long before Marvel Rivals came along.
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There was a time when Overwatch was the top dog in the world of team shooters, but that feels like a lifetime ago now. Since it launched late in 2024, Marvel Rivals has been the new hotness in the genre, with Overwatch 2 feeling almost neglected by fans in the months that have passed. Now, a host of new features for Overwatch 2 are coming out, but the game’s director insists that it isn’t in response to the new competition from Marvel Rivals.
During a stream with Overwatch streamer Jay3, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller was asked if Blizzard was feeling pressure to push itself and innovate in response to the success of Marvel Rivals. “I think that competition is healthy,” Keller explained. “It does force people to innovate more and to always be putting your best foot forward, but I don’t think what you’re seeing in Overwatch right now is a response to Marvel Rivals. So much of what we were doing this year – from perks to Stadium to map voting, we did full hero bans – so much of what we’re doing here and all the heroes we’re releasing has been in the works for over a year as part of a new strategy for the game to have a big annual kick-off to the year.”
To be fair, Blizzard has probably been looking to innovate with Overwatch in recent years after a lack of story content for the game left fans feeling like the characters they fell in love with weren’t getting much love from the developer, so the idea that 2025 was always going to be a big innovative period for Overwatch 2 feels likely. However, we’d also imagine that sudden competition from Marvel Rivals has given the developer a bit more of a push to get the game back on track.
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