Everyone is complaining about Overwatch 2’s monetization, but no-one can stop playing it

It doesn’t matter which way you cut it, surveillance 2 it is an overwhelming success. Yes, the launch was terrible. Yes, no matter where you look, people are complaining about the battle pass or monetization. Yes, people are even asking for loot boxes to be returned. But, despite all of that, and the negative sentiment from all of the game’s social media platforms, the game has managed to attract 35 million people since its launch.

official numbers from a call from a Blizzard investor have confirmed that Overwatch 2 is even more popular than the original, with the oft-criticized sequel drawing more players into the riot within its first 30 days on sale than Overwatch did in 2016.

“Over 35 million people played the game in its first month, including many who were new to Overwatch,” Blizzard says in its report. “The extended community is getting deeply involved, with Overwatch 2’s first month averaging more than double the daily player count of its acclaimed predecessor.”

In the space of a month, then, Overwatch 2 has attracted 35 million players – the original game only did 15 million conversions at the same time.

The difference is, of course, that the new game is free. No expense is expected for you to download the game now; you can get it for free on the Xbox Store, PlayStation Store, Nintendo eShop, or on PC. Blizzard makes up for the lack of shelf price through premium in-game cosmetics and a battle pass, which locks out new characters from non-paying players.

But these new characters are perhaps one of the reasons for the popularity of the game. People are really in love with Kiriko, and the upcoming Ramattra has also piqued the curiosity of the player base. So in enticing players to buy premium content by keeping new heroes out of reach, Blizzard seems to be on to something, much to the chagrin of the community.

So while you’ll likely see people lamenting the multiplayer game’s tactics when it comes to getting the money out of your wallet, you can’t argue with Overwatch’s magnetic power. The sequel has attracted more than twice as many people as the original game in the same amount of time, and Blizzard clearly has no plans to let things slow down.

“Blizzard hopes to deliver an ambitious slate of regular seasonal updates for Overwatch 2 that introduce new characters, maps, and modes, including the game’s long-awaited PvE mode planned for 2023,” the report continues.

Hopefully the publisher will take some player feedback into account and move the monetization dial a bit as the game gets a bit longer.