LogIn"Although being review-bombed isn't a fun experience, it's been great to see lots of new players jump into Overwatch 2 for the first time."
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment, Overwatch 2
Earlier this month, Blizzard officially released Overwatch 2 on Steam, delivering on its earlier promise to expand their game offerings to Steam to enrich accessibility and gameplay for a wider player base beyond those using Battle.net.
Upon its release, the game quickly broke several anti-records, becoming the worst-rated game on the platform, with only 9% of its reviews being positive and many of these positive reviews being laced with sarcasm.
Nearly two weeks have passed, and the situation remains largely unchanged, with Overwatch 2 still having an Overwhelmingly Negative rating and 91% negative reviews. The reviewers, numbering over 150,000, attribute their discontent to the absence of the promised PvE content, Blizzard's questionable monetization approach, and the lack of new features compared to the original Overwatch.
Aaron Keller, Director of Overwatch 2, has recently released a statement in response to the community's unfavorable feedback, acknowledging the primary factors contributing to this reception:
"We also launched on Steam last week, and, although being review-bombed isn't a fun experience, it's been great to see lots of new players jump into Overwatch 2 for the first time," reads the statement. "Our goal with Overwatch 2 has been to make the game more accessible than ever for more people than ever before.
Many of the reviews on Steam mention the cancellation of the much larger component of PvE that was announced in 2019 as one of their primary reasons for dissatisfaction with the game. I get that. That announcement was about an ambitious project that we ultimately couldn't deliver."
Additionally, Keller commented on Blizzard's plans for Overwatch 2 moving forward:
"If we can't turn back the clock, then what can we do? We can keep adding to and improving Overwatch 2. That is how we move forward. This means more maps, heroes, game modes, missions, stories, events, cool cosmetics, and features – an ever-expanding, evolving, and improving game. This is the future of Overwatch. One where we will continually create and innovate on what is making the game great now for the players who are playing now."
Surprisingly, the Director refrained from attributing the game's review-bombing to Chinese players, despite having a potential reason to do so. It had come to light earlier that an astonishing 62% of Overwatch 2's Steam reviews were written in Simplified Chinese. Chinese players voiced their concerns over Blizzard's abandonment of their region, the shutdown of their national server, subpar online connectivity, and sluggish login speeds, in addition to the regular OW2 complaints listed above.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment, Overwatch 2
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