Ever since the start of 2026, the gaming industry has been in a state of absolute frenzy, beginning in January and escalating through February. The biggest surprise came from Overwatch 2—a game many felt had been drifting in and out of relevance. In a move that left players rubbing their eyes in disbelief, the developers announced a massive overhaul: dropping the '2' from its name and instantly adding five new heroes to the roster.
Historically, Overwatch has been notoriously 'stingy' with new hero releases, often making fans wait ages for a single addition. Meanwhile, Marvel Rivals has been aggressively dropping one new hero per month, so it was no surprise that its player count managed to leave Overwatch 2 in the dust.
However, everything changed with the massive update on February 10th. The overhaul successfully drew back veteran players, newcomers, and even those who had long abandoned the game. As of now, Overwatch has reclaimed its momentum, reaching a new peak of over 165,651 concurrent players (counting only SteamDB data). Let's dive into the details of this incredible comeback
This story is backed by SteamDB statistics, which reveal the peak player count within the first 24 hours of Overwatch’s global relaunch. The surge truly took off when the update went live in Asia on February 11th at 2:00 AM. As soon as Asian servers opened, the player count skyrocketed to 119,027 concurrent users worldwide—a staggering figure that even the original launch of Overwatch 2 couldn't match.
At the time of writing, the game maintains a steady flow of 55,434 active players. Furthermore, the all-time peak since the game debuted on Steam (recorded just yesterday) reached an impressive 165,651 players. It’s safe to say that this new chapter for Overwatch is off to an incredibly bright start.
Meanwhile, during the same 24-hour window, Marvel Rivals hit a peak of 112,997 players, trailing Overwatch by 6,030. Currently, Marvel Rivals maintains about 44,124 active players, which puts it 11,310 behind Overwatch's current count. This marks a significant milestone, as it may be the first time Overwatch has successfully overtaken Marvel Rivals in numbers.
It is worth noting that these figures are based solely on Steam data. Without official console statistics, it's hard to say whether Marvel Rivals might still hold the lead or fall behind on those platforms.
However, Marvel Rivals is not taking this sitting down. In a swift response, they have announced the immediate release of their next hero, Elsa Bloodstone, scheduled to join the roster on February 13th. This upcoming update is expected to include a new game mode and various features designed to entice fans and reclaim their dominance in the genre
As mentioned, this war has only just begun. The real challenge for Overwatch is to sustain this momentum and keep players engaged in the long run. This means they cannot afford to slow down on content or attractive incentives; they must avoid being a 'one-hit wonder' spike in player count.
On the other hand, Marvel Rivals must quickly find a way to win back the tens of thousands of players who migrated to Overwatch. Losing that many players—especially while your rival hits a record high—is no small matter.
Ultimately, as these two giants go head-to-head, the real winners are the players. The only dilemma we face now is how to split our time between both games—and which one gets our money for new skins. One thing is for certain: our wallets are definitely going to feel the pain!
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