Fact Checked by 
Overwatch 2 director says that the release of Marvel Rivals brings “exciting” competition, befitting both developers and players.
Marvel Rivals has surged in popularity ever since it launched in late 2024, so much so that it started giving the reigning champ, Overwatch 2, a run for its money.
In an interview with Gamesradar, Aaron Keller, game director for Overwatch 2, welcomed the competition that NetEase’s title was bringing to the table.
He said: “We’re obviously in a new competitive landscape that I think, for Overwatch, we’ve never really been in before, to this extent where there’s another game that’s so similar to the one that we’ve created.
“There’s actually something kind of exciting about this, for a few reasons.”
Most notably, Keller commented on how the rival hero shooter ensured the Blizzard development team was “no longer playing it safe.” After the mixed reception, the Overwatch sequel has received in terms of seasonal content and the lack of a campaign mode, this was a welcomed sentiment to many.
Members of the community saw the recent Overwatch Spotlight event as a direct response to Marvel Rivals, introducing highly requested features fans had been dying to see for the longest time. From a third-person camera perspective to Stadium, the introduction of perks, and the return of loot boxes.
In the interview with Gamesradar, Keller pointed out the upcoming additions, such as the perks system, as an example of “forcing function to execute” and how “for a team of super passionate craftspeople, [it’s] like music to their ears.”
He said: “So with perks, there’s some choices in there that we hope add depth to what it means to play any one of our heroes in the game, and we hope that it adds strategy over the course of a match.
“Because now you’re able to pick things that either augment what your hero is doing or maybe you’re going to use it to counter what somebody is doing on the other team.”
For the first time, Overwatch 2 finally has a legitimate competitor in the hero shooter space that is forcing the game to take action. A sentiment that the development team acknowledges and welcomes.
While the “Marvel Rivals vs Overwatch 2” debate is inevitable, competition will push both games to innovate, benefiting players. If this continues, we stand to look at a very exciting era in a genre that has long suffered from stagnation.
