Overwatch 2 has launched on Steam and people hate it. It could become the worst game on Steam of all time – according to player reviews.
This is probably not how Blizzard envisioned it. With the launch of Overwatch 2 on Steam, they wanted to give players a new way to access the game. Instead of needing the Battle.net launcher, players can now also play the hero shooter on Steam.
However, many angry fans seized the opportunity to finally vent their frustration. There was a storm of negative reviews. Within just 12 hours, Overwatch 2 became one of the worst-rated games. At least some of the reviews are quite amusing.
What happened yesterday? Along with the start of Season 6, the release of a new hero, and the launch of the “Invasion” PvE missions in Overwatch 2, the game was also released on Steam. For Blizzard, this was an opportunity to attract even more potential players who do not want to use the Battle.net launcher or those who prefer to have their games bundled on Steam.
How has the game been rated? As of last night, the game had 17% positive reviews and 83% negative reviews, placing it in a devastatingly poor range. This morning (as of 10:00 AM), the ratings have gotten even worse.
Currently, more than 86% of over 25,000 ratings are negative, and only 14% are positive. Even worse: If you look at many of the “positive” reviews, they are actually negative and often sarcastically phrased in the spirit of “I gave a good rating so you would read it.”.
The only positive aspect is that at least a large part of the reviews has a humorous character – at least if you like it cynically. Here are some excerpts from the negative reviews:
- “Blizzard forgot that this is a video game and not a character skin shop.”
- “The people making Overwatch porn on the internet work harder than the people making the actual Overwatch.”
- “Welcome to Steam, Blizzard. Here are your honest reviews.”
- “Overwatch 2 has no respect for you, and it is just an attempt to open your wallet while masquerading as the game it once was.”
And here are some of the “positive” reviews:
- “What a cool game! I really hope it is run by a company that listens to its fans and keeps its promises.”
- “To be absolutely honest in my humble opinion, without sounding sentimental and obviously without attacking anyone who sees it differently from my standpoint, but at the same time with a nuanced view without condemning anyone’s judgment and trying to keep it objective and still respecting the viewpoint of others, I think: Team Fortress 2 is better than Overwatch 2.”
- “Incredible that they really made a game out of the popular porn series.”
- “It’s Overwatch, but it has a 2 at the end.”
What is the reason for this poor rating? That Overwatch 2 is rated so poorly on Steam shouldn’t surprise many. A large part of the Overwatch community has been bitterly disappointed since the regular launch of Overwatch 2 last year. For many, the “2” in the name is not justified, as the promised PvE campaign with the hero mode did not materialize. Instead, there is a Battle Pass every few weeks and occasionally individual story missions.
For many, Overwatch 2 is a collection of broken promises and, in many aspects, simply worse and greedier than the original Overwatch.
Steam usually takes action against such “review bombing”. This could at least make some of the negative (and trolling positive) ratings disappear in the coming days.
Was the launch just bad? That probably depends on the perspective. After all, there are currently over 52,000 players in Overwatch 2 on Steam, placing it at least at number 12 among the games with the most players at present. How many of these are new players or just switched from Battle.net and how many will drop the game after a few hours remains to be seen in the coming days.
It remains to be seen whether Overwatch 2 will still earn the dubious title of “worst game on Steam” by then – as Overwatch 2 is currently in second place, only narrowly behind “War of the Three Kingdoms”.
The Overwatch League is also doing poorly right now. An analyst says: “This will go down as a huge blunder in gaming history.”
