Overwatch Steam Player Count Enjoys Bounce, Passes COD and BF6

Overwatch may have finally exorcised its 2022 demons. It has seen a sizeable player number bounce after removing the number 2 from its name and announcing the introduction of a cat with a jetpack – coincidence? Maybe.

Blizzard has struggled with Overwatch for the past few years.  In 2022, the devs launched Overwatch 2. They promised a host of changes and additions, primarily the introduction of Hero Mode – a co-op PvE mode.

Despite having been promised for a few years, the game mode didn’t materialize and its development was officially cancelled in 2023. The move left a bitter taste in players’ mouths.

While Overwatch remains a competitive hero shooter in tournaments, it’s never quite lived up to expectations. It hasn’t scaled the player number heights promised in the early days.

Changes Incoming

But impending changes are already seemingly changing that.

During the recent Overwatch spotlight, Blizzard announced a raft of changes. One change was the introduction of a deeper storyline, with a new overarching story released every year.

Other improvements include 10 new heroes launching this year, as well as new maps, better graphics, and even an improved user interface.

Overwatch: Reign of Talon Season 1, which fleshes out the game with a deeper story, launches on February 10.

Overwatch Steam Player Count

According to SteamDB, which tracks such things, Overwatch currently has a daily player count of around 70,000. That’s up markedly from January’s 43,000. The only month that saw a higher player count was August 2023, when it was released on Steam. The game did see a bump in April last year, when Stadium mode launched, and it sees occasional peaks when new heroes or other content launch, but such an impressive increase before the new season even launches is a positive sign of things to come.

The increase means player numbers are also ahead of Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty on the platform. Although it still has some way to go to reach Marvel Rivals’ current 100,000 player count, Overwatch’s figures don’t include Battle.net or console numbers.

In the coming weeks, Overwatch could rival Rivals.