Overwatch players thank Marvel Rivals for making Blizzard lock in

Overwatch has revealed its grand plans for 2026, and players are actually heaping praise on rival hero shooter Marvel Rivals for encouraging Blizzard to make substantial changes.

As revealed at the Spotlight event, February 10 is the start of a fresh chapter for Overwatch, as it enters a new narrative-driven era. Going forward, the game’s story will be told over the course of a year through special events, animations, and more, starting with Season 1.

As part of this overhaul, we’re getting five new heroes, a game-changing set of Sub-roles, and even a Hello Kitty crossover.

Whether you’re a long-time fan, returning player, or coming in completely fresh, it’s about to rain content, and the community has pointed to Marvel Rivals as one of the possible reasons for this change in approach.

Overwatch players praise Marvel Rivals ahead of revamp

When it launched back in December 2024, Marvel Rivals became an instant hit. It overtook Overwatch’s then-struggling player count, and, since they both share a number of similarities in their gameplay, fans naturally started to pit the two against each other.

Marvel Rivals was also able to fire out new content at a rapid rate, using its wealth of source material to bring multiple new heroes with every season.

Blizzard finally had some real competition in the hero shooter space, and the two have gone blow for blow ever since.

Now, following the announcement of Overwatch’s revamp, fans are actually praising Marvel Rivals for making Blizzard step things up.

“I am gonna get flailed for saying this but Marvel Rivals is the best thing to happen to Overwatch,” said streamer ‘bogur‘ in an X post.

“Thank you Marvel Rivals for forcing Overwatch to lock in and give us this,” wrote another fan, while a third added: “I love how Overwatch started to lock in once Marvel Rivals became a thing because they weren’t doing this s**t before.”

Referencing Blizzard’s decision to drop the two from its name and rebrand to Overwatch, one player joked: “In a way, Marvel Rivals really DID kill Overwatch 2.”