After Becoming the Worst User-Reviewed Game Ever on Steam, Overwatch 2’s Recent Reviews Jump to ‘Mixed’

ign.com:

Overwatch 2 Season 15 appears to be going down well, improving sentiment around what was once the worst ever user-reviewed game on Steam.

We're now nearly nine years out from the debut of Overwatch in 2016, and two-and-a-half from the launch of Overwatch 2. In August 2023, Overwatch 2 became the worst user-reviewed game on Steam ever, with most of the negative reviews focused on monetization after developer Blizzard was heavily-criticised for forcing its premium predecessor to update into a free-to-play sequel, rendering the original Overwatch unplayable back in 2022.

Overwatch 2 subsequently endured a number of controversies including the cancellation of its long-awaited PvE Hero mode — the one feature, players said, that justified the sequel's existence.

But while Overwatch 2 still has a ‘mostly negative’ user review rating on Steam for all reviews, recent reviews have shown an improvement to ‘mixed.’ That means 43% of the 5,325 user reviews left in the last 30 days were positive.

That might not sound like much to crow about, but for Overwatch 2, which has endured overwhelming negativity since its release on Valve’s platform, it’s a significant milestone.

This improvement has to do with the recent launch of Season 15, which made a number of dramatic changes to Overwatch 2. While the roadmap ahead includes much of what you'd expect to see in terms of new content, the core gameplay itself has seen a seismic shift, including the additions of hero perks and the return of loot boxes.

“They just released Overwatch 2,” reads one recent positive review. “The recent update is what the game should always have been before corporate greed got in the way.”

“For once, I must come to Overwatch's defense and say they really have stepped up their game,” reads another. “Going back to what worked in Overwatch 1 while introducing new and fun mechanics to the game. A certain game made them LOCK IN and I couldn't be happier. Now we just gotta wait for next season with an actual cooler