Overwatch 2 Responds To Poor Review Scores On Steam

Overwatch 2 could be doing better. Since launched, they have been labeled as the worst game on Steam. Whether they deserve that label is for the players to decide. Regardless of where you fall, it is undeniable that they made some bad decisions with the game. There are over 150 thousand reviews, and most of them are overwhelmingly negative. One must wonder how long Steam will take to delete and hide some user scores. Overwatch managed to go from a game of the year to one of the most despised games on the internet. It is hard to imagine how quickly they managed to fall.

Although I have played far worse games, it is easy to understand the disappointment players express with this title. It is not the gameplay that angers people so much, but rather the broken promises. Blizzard made many promises leading up to the launch, only to completely give up on most features and modes. To say that Overwatch is overpromised would be an understatement. Although the concept sounded exciting then, most knew it sounded too good to be true.

Blizzard stated that all-new story missions would be released alongside the PVE mode. They said there would be all new skill trees and creative ways to customize your heroes by playing these story modes. After the release of the game and forcing people to upgrade from the previous installment, they just stated that it was too hard to deliver on these promises and scrapped everything. This decision should not be underestimated. The only reason why a sequel could be justified was due to the new stories they promised in PVE. Without it, the game is a broken version of the original Overwatch.

Blizzard Responds To The Overwatch 2 Drama

By now, Blizzard is likely regretting their decision to launch Overwatch 2 on Steam. Before the release of this game, they used to only release their titles on Battlenet. However, due to the drop in popularity for this one game of the year, it felt logical to open it to a broader audience on more platforms. The game’s director responded to all the drama by stating that it was disappointing that they were being review bombed by players. However, despite the backlash, he insists that the game enjoys a massive boost in new players. The game director responded directly to the dissatisfaction of the players by stating,

…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. 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.

 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.

Overwatch 2 Game Director Aaron Keller

Fans Push Back Against Overwatch 2

The first question players have is why Blizzard could not deliver on their promises. They are a large enough studio to pull this off if they wanted to. I understand it is easier said than done, but they committed to delivering on it. Blizzard continued to promote these new story modes for months after they knew the decision had already been taken to cancel everything. This was done intentionally to bring more players on board. Although they did not do this for game sales as the upgrade was free, they still did it to force old players over under false pretenses.

People bought skins for Overwatch 2 because they were excited about PVE. Blizzard likely made millions with this broken promise. Understandably, plans sometimes do not work out, but it is hard to trust a company after something like this. It is best first to create the product before you announce it. It once again proves who these publishers serve. They only have one goal: to make money for their investors. They will say and do anything to push up numbers and increase stock prices.

If they were for the gamers, they would have figured out the challenges and delivered on their promises. However, they are so hurried to push out other in-game micro transactional content that they immediately give up and move on to what will bring the investors money. I would like to believe that things will be better under Microsoft, but it will likely be the same. Since Xbox Gaming has many studios under them, this might be a bit better, but they also have a reputation for over-promising and broken launches. Sadly, I do not see things getting better.

What Is Next

It is hard to justify a sequel for Overwatch. Usually, games like this only enjoy a little success when they decide to do a new release. When gamers look at the current state of Overwatch, there is nothing that could not have been added through updates and DLC to the old version of the game. However, one justification came in the form of hero missions. Without it, Overwatch cannot justify the two next to their game. Blizzard will have a hard time winning the fans back. The game director stated in his interview that they would try adding new things to improve Overwatch.

Sadly you cannot simply cancel your most considerable promise and try to move forward by stating that you are working on adding new content. What you should do first is deliver on the promises you made previously before making new ones. Blizzard managed to ruin people’s expectations of what this game could have been. It might be too late even if they work to fix the issues and improve the user experience. The gaming experience is competitive, and people move on quickly.

With all of this said, this game does still have its supporters. There is nothing wrong with still enjoying the game and playing it. If you dedicate hundreds of hours to it and do not care for the canceled new modes, you will likely find joy in your experience. If you are one of these people, then there is no issue. However, most people will not fall into this camp. There are a hundred and fifty-five thousand reviews on Steam, and most of them are overwhelmingly negative. This should tell you what people think and feel.

Conclusion

You can dismiss this as trolls who will never play the game, but that would not be smart. Blizzard messed up in a big way, and deep down, they know this. All they can do now is try and move forward. While the trust has been broken, people also have shockingly short memories. Microsoft can add this game on Game Pass once the acquisition is complete, and they will likely be exposed to a whole new world of players willing to try the game.

Table Of Information: Overwatch 2 Game