LogInMany of them used Overwatch 2's Steam release to criticize not the game but Blizzard itself.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
In case you somehow missed it, over the past weekend, Blizzard's Overwatch 2 set a new anti-record on Steam, becoming the worst-rated game on the platform, with only 9% of its reviews being positive and many of these positive reviews being sarcastic in nature.
While most of these reviews site somewhat legitimate reasons to dislike the game and its creators, such as the absence of the promised PvE content, Blizzard's questionable monetization strategies, lack of new features compared to the original Overwatch, and the like, it appears that some review bombing has indeed taken place, causing OW2's rapid downfall on Steam.
First spotted by Director of Research and Insights at Niko Partners Daniel Ahmad, a staggering 62% of Overwatch 2's Steam reviews were found to be composed in Simplified Chinese, a whopping 76,000 out of a total 122,000, with 97% of these Chinese reviews being negative.
Given China's mammoth population of 1.412 billion, the preponderance of reviews in Chinese isn't particularly startling. However, in contrast to reviewers from other nations, Chinese players utilized the Steam release of Overwatch 2 not to critique the game itself, but rather its developer Blizzard Entertainment.
As some of you know, Blizzard and NetEase, the latter of which had been managing Blizzard titles in China, severed their 14-year partnership back in late January. The aftermath saw several Blizzard titles, including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, the StarCraft series, Diablo III, Heroes of the Storm, and Overwatch 2, becoming inaccessible in China. Chinese gamers consequently lost access to their accounts and the ability to play on national servers.
Shortly prior to the end of the deal, Blizzard proposed to extend the publishing partnership for an additional six months which was followed by NetEase calling this proposal "rude and unreasonable." In an act of protest, the Chinese giant even destroyed the World of Warcraft Orc statue outside its offices.
The Steam launch provided Chinese gamers their first opportunity to voice their grievances on an open and international platform. Many availed themselves of this chance to reproach the developer not for the game itself, but for the abandonment of their nation, the discontinuation of their national server, subpar online connectivity, and sluggish login speeds, in addition to the regular OW2 complaints listed above.
As previously indicated, more than 95% of Chinese reviews adopt a negative stance. However, it's worth noting that even if Valve deems a considerable portion of these reviews as spam and consequently removes them, the game's overall rating would still be among the lowest on the platform.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
What's your take on the situation? What do you think about Overwatch 2's Steam rating? Should Valve remove Chinese reviews? Tell us in the comments!
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