One month in, Marvel Rivals continues to put Overwatch 2 to shame

A month into its lifespan, Marvel Rivals continues to go from strength to strength, putting Overwatch 2, widely considered the closest competitor, to shame.

Marvel Rivals launched with a staggering roster of 33 characters from across the Marvel universe, earning plaudits for its depth. Things are set to become pretty fantastic with the launch of Season One, which introduces Marvel’s first family: The Fantastic Four.

Each member of the Fantastic Four is due to be added to Marvel Rivals in Season One, likely split into two at launch and the other two in a mid-season update, which should provide the NetEase title with another spike of players—not that it needs one.

Since launching on Dec. 6, Marvel Rivals has steadily boasted a daily peak on Steam of around 350,000 to 400,000 players, only dropping below that mark on Christmas Day and Boxing Day—with the average not too much short of the 480,000 all-time peak.

Meanwhile, Overwatch 2 has failed to pick up steam again despite the launch of the new season on Dec. 10. Since that launch, Overwatch 2’s playerbase has only peaked on Steam above 40,000 on three occasions—numbers significantly lower than Marvel Rivals.

Even after its first release on Steam in September 2023, Overwatch 2 has achieved nowhere near the numbers that Marvel Rivals has. But it’s worth remembering that these numbers only account for one platform.

Still, the same can be said for Marvel Rivals, which has a large playerbase on PlayStation and Xbox. On PS5, Marvel Rivals sits in the top 10 for the best-selling games, and it’s a similar story on the Microsoft Store—where the NetEase title sits at the top of the pile for free games.

It’s still early days for Marvel Rivals, and it remains to be seen how the playerbase remains during the first full season. While the launch of the new season should result in a spike in players, that could fall off towards the end of the season.

NetEase may have plenty of ways to keep players engaged during the season, though, such as limited-time events like the Winter Celebration and the release of new skins.