Overwatch 2 Steam launch was immediately inundated with negative reviews

Overwatch 2’s Steam launch got off to a rocky start with thousands of players leaving negative reviews.

Only 14% of the 25,000-plus user reviews were positive, Steam’s own stats reveal, causing Overwatch 2 to receive an “extremely negative” rating on Valve’s platform.

Most negative reviews focus on one thing: monetization. Blizzard came under fire when it launched Overwatch 2 in late 2022 forcing its premium predecessor to update to a free-to-play sequel, rendering the original Overwatch unplayable.

Since then, Overwatch 2 has endured a number of controversies including The long-awaited PvE Hero mode has been cancelled – the only feature, as the players said, which justified the existence of the sequel.

Yesterday’s Steam launch, which came alongside the Invasion update, was seen as a surefire way to expand Overwatch 2’s player base. In fact, Blizzard said it now considers Overwatch 2 to have moved out of Early Access. And even though Overwatch 2 broke into the top five best-selling titles on Steam in terms of revenue and peaked at 52,349 concurrent players, reviewers clouded the release.

One review of Steam Orange usersums up the sentiment: “Overwatch 2 doesn’t respect you, it’s an attempt to open your wallet while masquerading as the game it once was.”

The backlash revolved around the free-to-play nature of Overwatch 2, with heroes in the battle pass, the battle pass itself, and Blizzard’s new approach to cosmetics, highlighted as negative changes from the original Overwatch.

Fans also remain bitterly disappointed in Blizzard’s decision to drop Overwatch 2’s planned hero PvE mode, despite the addition of new story missions with the Invasion update. These new story missions can only be played by paying $15 for a custom pack, and many Overwatch 2 players have said they aren’t worth the money.

Blizzard recently told reporters that it’s quiet about declining player engagement with Overwatch 2, which puts it on the natural ebb and flow of being a free-to-play game. But, clearly, there’s a lot riding on this Invasion update, even though Blizzard downplayed it. All eyes will be on Activision Blizzard’s upcoming financial report, as it’s expected to make some comments on the success or lack thereof of Overwatch 2. If you’re thinking of getting involved, here’s everything you need to know about Overwatch 2 Invasion.

Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. You can find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].