Overwatch 2 Dev Says Competition Is Healthy, But Current Direction Isn’t a Reaction to Marvel Rivals
In the past few years since it was released, Overwatch has become a titan in the hero shooter genre, with multiple would-be foes failing to stand up to the game. That changed with the introduction of NetEase’s Marvel Rivals last year.
The free-to-play hero shooter based on the Marvel universe has taken the hero crown from Overwatch 2, and given its stranglehold on players, that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.
Seemingly in response to this, Blizzard Entertainment has essentially shaken up Overwatch 2 by introducing the new Stadium mode, the addition of perks, and more.
But these changes, according to Blizzard, aren’t a response to Marvel Rivals at all.
Overwatch 2 Game Director Comments on Marvel Rivals and How Competition Is “Healthy”
Speaking to YouTuber Jay3, Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller was asked what he thought of Marvel Rivals and whether the competition was healthy. Jay3 compared it to wrestling, and how WCW made WWE (known as WWF back then) a better product since it knew it had to step its game up in order to wrestle (heh) people away from the competition.
Keller responded, “I’ve got like a’ yes/no’ to that or a ‘no/yes’ to that. I think that competition is healthy. it force people to innovate more, and to always be putting your best foot forward. But I don’t think that’s what you’re seeing from Overwatch right now is a response to Rivals. So much of what we were doing this year from perks, to Stadium, to map voting, we did pull hero bans forward a season or two. But so much of what we were doing, and all the heroes we’re releasing that’s been in the works for over a year. Like a new strategy for the game, to always kick this thing off, to have a big annual kick off to the year, yeah I can see that. Even though maybe it’s not always the most comfortable for the game team. I can see how the competition’s healthy, but where we’re right now isn’t necessarily from that, but it could be that as we start getting further and further, maybe people see even bigger things out of the team in order for us to be competing.”
Ultimately, the winner out of all this are the gamers. Both games need to step their game up, lest one side gets fed up and moves to the other game. Hopefully, Overwatch 2’s evolution will continue to help retain its existing player base and even attract new players.
Do you think Overwatch 2 became a better game because of Marvel Rivals? Sound off in the comments below.
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