Overwatch 2 averages double the daily players of Overwatch

Overwatch 2 has more than double the daily player count than the first Overwatch had in the first month after launch.

The new information comes from Activision Blizzard's third quarter financial results for the 2022 fiscal year, published yesterday on November 7. In total, 35 million people have played Overwatch 2 since it launched over a month ago on October 4, a staggering figure for the hero shooter sequel.

As such, this means Overwatch 2 averages just over one million players per day. According to the new release from Activision Blizzard, this puts the shooter sequel at double the daily player count of the original Overwatch, when comparing the first month of the two games after launch.

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This, as the publisher notes, might be chiefly due to the new free-to-play model adopted by Overwatch 2. Whereas the original shooter was a fully-priced release over six years ago in 2016, Overwatch 2 drops the premium price tag completely, allowing anyone across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms to play free of up-front charge.

This doesn't necessarily mean Overwatch 2 has been a resounding success, however. Developer Blizzard was heavily criticized by players for including mobile phone verification when the game launched, which lead to the feature being dropped entirely just a few weeks later. Bugs with heroes like Bastion were rife in the debut weeks, and players weren't happy about lore changes made for the sequel.

Considering today's news, however, with the previous news that Overwatch 2's daily player count previously doubled the original's peak, it seems the shooter sequel has definitely found a dedicated audience.

Check out our ongoing guide to all the Overwatch 2 hero changes and reworks for an up-to-date tracker.