Overwatch just launched on Steam for the first time, having skipped the platform since its initial launch in 2016. But with recent high-profile controversies and overall dissatisfaction with the state of the game, things aren't going smoothly. In fact, right now, it's going record-breakingly awful.
According to SteamDB, Overwatch 2 is the worst-rated game on Steam right now. This is despite only launching on the platform two days ago and finally releasing its long-awaited story mode. Better yet, in true Overwatch fashion, it seems like its most dedicated players are also its biggest haters because the game is still pulling in tens of thousands of players.
At the time of writing, Overwatch 2 has 56,490 players on Steam, and that's pretty early in the day. Still, this isn't enough to keep the haters at bay - probably because many of them are in the game right now. No one hates Overwatch more than an Overwatch player.
Right now, Overwatch 2 has 74,128 reviews, just ten percent of which are positive. This gives Overwatch 2 "Overwhelmingly Negative" status - probably not what Blizzard was hoping for.
Wherever you stand on the Overwatch drama, I think we can all agree on something: the negative reviews are incredibly funny. Here are some of my favourites.
"I cried at the part when Reaper said 'BUY, BUY, BUY' and locked the new heroes behind a battlepass and scrapped the Story Mode," says Steam user RoiRoiJe. "Truly the game of all time. Thank you Activision Blizzard."
"The porn has better lore than this," argues MaximusPrime2407. There are many, many comments to this effect. Surprising no one.
On the other hand, user Monado doesn't actually say anything. They just link to the "controversies" section on the Activision Blizzard Wikipedia page. This includes the lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, alleging a culture of sexual misconduct towards female employees. Players haven't quite forgotten about that one.
Still, it's hard to argue that Overwatch 2 is a failure. It clearly has a bunch of players, and is presumably making enough money through its microtransactions to not only keep the lights on, but keep the content coming. Admittedly, the latest content drop is pretty controversial, coming to us in the form of the downscaled PvE missions. They cost an additional $15, further frustrating the playerbase. It remains to be seen if the fanbase is all talk or actually boycotts the DLC. But in terms of the battle for public opinion, it doesn't seem that Blizzard has convinced fans that selling story missions at a premium is a good deal for them.