Overwatch 2 has made gaming history by earning the dubious distinction of being the worst-reviewed game on Steam. The highly anticipated team-based shooter, previously exclusive to Blizzard’s Battle.net client, made its debut on Steam on August 10. However, the reception has been overwhelmingly negative, with only nine percent of the overall ratings (111,234) being positive. Players have criticized the game for locking heroes and cosmetics behind a battle pass and for canceling its PvE mode, which had been heavily promoted. This negative feedback must have come as a surprise to Blizzard, as Battle.net did not have a review system in place.
With the launch of the season 6 titled ‘Invasion,’ Overwatch 2 transitioned from early access. Unfortunately, the game has deviated from its original purpose. The sequel was initially advertised as having an always-on PvE mode, allowing players to gather XP by completing story missions and level up their favorite heroes in an RPG-like experience. However, Blizzard announced in May that this mode was no longer in development, opting instead to release it gradually in smaller increments to bolster the co-op gameplay. This decision not only rendered the sequel redundant, but the addition of a battle pass and other live-service gimmicks at the beginning did not sit well with loyal fans.
An interesting point to note is that nearly two-thirds of the negative reviews are reportedly from Chinese players. Renowned games analyst Daniel Ahmad reveals that Overwatch 2 and World of Warcraft were the most popular PC games in China before Blizzard shut down regional servers due to a fallout with its Chinese distributor, NetEase. The 14-year partnership was terminated earlier this year over new terms in the licensing agreement. Consequently, Chinese gamers have been using VPNs to access these games as there have been no announcements about the servers being reinstated. The release of Overwatch 2 on Steam provided Chinese players with an avenue to voice their concerns and criticize the game’s changes. However, relying on VPNs has resulted in slow logins and connectivity issues.
In just three days, Overwatch 2 has surpassed the Chinese card-battle game War of the Three Kingdoms to become the worst-reviewed game on the Steam platform, with over 101,826 negative reviews at the time of writing. This has led to an ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ tag for the game. Blizzard has expressed its intention to bring a selection of its other titles to Steam, which would be greatly appreciated by PC players who dislike having to switch between different accounts and clients to play their favorite games. Although it’s unclear which titles will be added, many fans hope that the Diablo games are next in line.
Overwatch 2 is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.
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Eugen Boglaru is an AI aficionado covering the fascinating and rapidly advancing field of Artificial Intelligence. From machine learning breakthroughs to ethical considerations, Eugen provides readers with a deep dive into the world of AI, demystifying complex concepts and exploring the transformative impact of intelligent technologies.
