A common sentiment among Overwatch players is that the game is dying, holding on to the hope that its sequel, Overwatch 2, will revive it. Despite harsh community feedback, people still love to play Overwatch over six years after its release, according to the most recent player count tracker.
Overwatch, Blizzard’s first-person hero shooter first debuted in 2016 with loads of hype and excitement surrounding both the game itself and its esports endeavor, the Overwatch League (OWL).
Since then, the game has produced some amazing moments in the FPS world, including several large, in-person events for the OWL with packed stadiums and exciting matches. But, half a decade after its release, the title has also suffered some less than stellar moments, including a litany of delays for Overwatch 2.
With the beta for Overwatch 2 now in full swing, it’s interesting to see how much of an effect this has had. So how many people are still logging on to play Overwatch in 2022?
It’s more than you might think.
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Overwatch Monthly Active Players
According to Active Player, Overwatch racked up at least 5 million average players each month in 2021, peaking as high as 7.3 million. In this, there have been a peak of around 500,000-600,000 daily players.
Also, towards the end of 2021 moving into 2022, the average monthly players for Overwatch has actually gone up to nearly 7 million and looks to be staying that way throughout the year too.
This month, Overwatch has so far peaked at an estimated 7.2 million active players, all according to Active Player.
This data is an estimate, the site claims, but still stands to be a staggering amount for a game that is now six years old.
Overwatch maintained an average of 6.9 million active players throughout January 2022.For context, here are some other notable game totals for active players in May of 2022.
- Minecraft: 173 million
- Valorant: 13 million
- League of Legends: 125 million
- Apex Legends: 119 million
- World of Warcraft: 6 million
- Fortnite: 269 million
Overwatch has not received any significant new content since April 2020, when the hero, Echo, was released. Since that time, only skins and maps have been added. Not only that, but games like Apex Legends, Fortnite, Valorant, and League of Legends continue to innovate their esports, and have a constant cycle of new characters and in-game content for players to enjoy.
But, for Overwatch, not all hope is lost.
The Future of Overwatch
Overwatch 2 is on the horizon.Both the game and the Overwatch League have faced their fair share of difficulties over the course of the last two years. However, each has an exciting opportunity to grow, looking ahead. This hope manifests itself in the form of Overwatch 2, the game’s long-awaited sequel that was announced in 2019 at Blizzcon.
Overwatch 2 has been delayed multiple times due to a variety of different factors, but should release sometime in 2022 or 2023. When this happens, the game should receive a significant jolt of active players and the OWL should see a revitalization in viewership as well, especially considering some of the exciting reworks that have been revealed and teased.
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If Overwatch 2 can be to Destiny what Destiny 2 has been, and the OWL can successfully achieve its homestead/travel model that it set out to do in 2018, each may be in for its own renaissance in the coming years. Although there are still many hurdles to climb leading up until that point, there is room for optimism for fans of the franchise.
Response to the beta has so far been mixed, with Twitch viewership falling off of a cliff very quickly. But, new content and a second beta are on the way which should provide the game with a lift.
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