Overwatch’s Player Count Soars Past Call of Duty and Battlefield 6 Amidst Ongoing Steam Review Struggles and Excitement for Upcoming Update

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Overwatch’s major update is set to launch tomorrow, February 10, but the beloved hero shooter has already seen a significant spike in its Steam player count, reaching its highest numbers in years. This surge comes just ahead of the anticipated arrival of the internet’s latest sensation, Jetpack Cat.

While Overwatch’s Steam stats are a bit complicated—having only joined the platform in summer 2024 after the free-to-play sequel debuted on consoles and Battle.net the previous year—the game previously peaked at 75,000 concurrent players before experiencing a decline. This weekend, however, it surged again, nearing 70,000 players.

This resurgence means Overwatch has surpassed the concurrent player counts of several other long-standing titles on Steam over the weekend, including Call of Duty, Battlefield 6, and Team Fortress 2. This is particularly impressive given that many players are likely still engaged on Battle.net, as is common with Blizzard titles.

The increase in player numbers and renewed interest isn’t just a fluke. Blizzard has announced significant changes coming tomorrow: Overwatch 2 will revert to its original name, but with enough new content—including five new heroes and major story developments—that it feels like they could have called it Overwatch 3.

However, the excitement surrounding the jetpack-flying cat voiced by Commander Shepard hasn’t yet improved Overwatch’s Steam reviews, which remain quite low. The game currently holds a ‘Mostly Negative’ rating, with 65% of its 138,000 reviews being negative. On a brighter note, recent reviews show some improvement, with 51% giving it a positive rating.

As a long-time player of Overwatch, I can confidently say this is the best state the game has been in since its peak years ago. New content is rolling out regularly, the monetization feels fair, and it remains one of the few shooters that balances playfulness with aggression through its diverse heroes. I expect both the Steam player count and user reviews to rise in the coming days and weeks. That cat is definitely going to make a big impact—literally.

A new Overwatch voice actor addresses the “elephant in the room,” sharing her feelings about her character’s redesign: “Let’s keep rooting for the version of her that could be.”