Overwatch Still Has 10 Million Monthly Active Users After 4.5 Years
It sounds like players are far from "over" Overwatch as Blizzard Entertainment's beloved first-person shooter still has a massive fanbase some 4.5 years after the title first launched.
While Overwatch has since been joined by the likes of Fortnite, Apex Legends, and VALORANT, Blizzard's title is the OG in terms of cashing in on the FPS esports scene. Riot has kept its grip when it comes to League of Legends with Worlds; however, the recent success of the Overwatch League Final means the game shows no signs of age.
Activision Blizzard is one of the biggest publishers around, boasting everything from Call of Duty to World of Warcraft, and yet, we still seem to forget Overwatch. With there being such a back catalogue of huge gaming franchises, is it any wonder Activision Blizzard's Q3 takings are through the roof?
When the coronavirus pandemic first kicked-off toward the start of this year, few could've predicted the effect it would have on the gaming industry as we stayed in our homes and glued to our screens. The uptick in the esports scene has also helped Overwatch flourish in 2020.
How big is Overwatch in 2020?
According to Activision Blizzard, Overwatch “continues to have a large and dedicated community". To be more precise, there are around 10 million active monthly users who log on and shoot each other to pieces. There was also a nod to the OWL Finals that earned the honour of being the most watch in the League's history. It's great news for Overwatch and comes at a time where there's also plenty of buzz about Overwatch 2.
Promising something different to the first game, Overwatch 2 is expected to be the big hitter of BlizzCon 2021 (in its new online format). It's also here where we're hoping to find out what the future hold for the OG Overwatch.
Looking back at the figures though, the Overwatch maths just doesn't seem to stack up. If the game has such an engaged player base even this many years later, then why don't the streams represent this? It's no secret that Overwatch has taken a dive in terms of streams, and although the OWL Finals were an anomaly, there's no hiding the fact a lot of people simply aren't watching the game anymore. It's presumably a case that we'd rather play than watch other people do it for us.
What does the future hold for Activision Blizzard?
Across the board, Activision Blizzard made an impressive $1.77 billion in Q3 against an expected $1.67 billion. There may have been a boom for Overwatch, but it was nothing compared to what the Activision arm of the company pulled in.
Outstretching both the Blizzard and King's arms, Activision netted $773 million thanks to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone being the GOATs in Q3. As well as Modern Warfare having the highest first-year premium sales in franchise history, two-thirds of its units were shipped globally.
Importantly, the continued success of Overwatch suggests that Blizzard will carry on working on the game even as the second enters the fray. Similar to how Modern Warfare and Warzone are expected to support the shiny new Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, don't expect Blizzard to drop you 10 million active players all of a sudden. As for Overwatch, its financials aren't bad for something that critics continuously dub a "dead game".
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Images via Blizzard Entertainment