What could have lead to the downfall of such a popular IP? In Overwatch’s case, such a question can not be answered simply. While other games are subject to declinations with simple and easily identifiable factors, Overwatch’s current subordinate state has been achieved through multiple factors, some of which were completely out of Blizzard’s control.
The Overwatch League
The birth of Blizzard’s competitive eSports league for Overwatch was exciting for many fans of the game. eSports, whose validity as a legitimate sports category is neglected by the majority of the general public, indubitably benefitted from the Overwatch League, gaining more publicity from the League’s creation. This was detrimental to Overwatch itself, however.
Blizzard has to devote its time to the maintenance and support of the League, and as a result, its attention to the regular play base waivers. Games like “Fortnite” have listened to their player base constantly, making changes to the game almost as quickly as the issues are pointed out. Blizzard has never really had this sort of connection to its player base, and with the League, the chances of it ever happening are slim to none. Blizzards time and energy are now more directed towards the gaming corporation rather than the gaming experience.
The Spotlight Faded
In this era, ideas and games take and lose the spotlight every day. The matter of a single weekend can see the use of an app minimized to a mere fraction of a fraction of its users barely days before. During its rise in popularity, Overwatch itself was seen as a better alternative to games like Team Fortress 2, resulting in the loss of said game’s spotlight. But with Overwatch taking the spotlight from other games, what game could possibly take Overwatch’s spotlight?
Rather than a specific game, the newly popularized “battle royale” genre became the new thing to play. Games like “H1Z1: King of the Kill”, “Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds”, and “Fortnite” took the last-one-standing idea to new heights. Player could squad up with their friends against a hundred other combatants, fighting to be the top in the game lobby. Battle royales provided a cooperative and enjoyable experience that gave an alternative to Overwatch’s 6-player team based combat. Many chose this new style over Overwatch’s, leading to its position in the spotlight fading.
Poor Developmental Decisions
One of, if not the, most important aspects of a good game lies in its continuing development. Conserving the freshness of the game sees games adding new content for both new and existing players. For a while, Overwatch did this impeccably well, adding events, hero skins, and lore that expanded both the player base and intricacies of the game. However, the update in which they added the hero “Sombra” saw a majority of the player base disagreeing with the development team’s decisions, and the disagreeing did anything but stop. Since the release of Sombra, there have been five heroes added to the game that many consider as the main driving force behind the game’s decline. With the exception of “Orisa,” each hero had their moment in the negative spotlight.
Sombra promotes sneaky play, but her abilities render heroes essentially useless for six seconds, which is a long time in an FPS game like Overwatch where fights can be won in a few seconds. “Doomfist” promotes swift play, but to do so he makes use of one hit-KO abilities that are degrading to play against. “Moira” is seen as a hero that takes “less brainpower” to play, as her abilities don’t require high mechanical skill to land them. “Wrecking Ball” has a large health pool and is hard to land hits on, while he escapes with ease. “Ashe’s” aim down sights weapon in a game where it is absent from most of the rest of the cast gives her a large advantage when it comes to dealing damage. “Brigitte” has been probably the worst of them all. Her entire character is designed around countering fast moving play, accomplishing the task by stunning enemies and dealing damage to them at close to medium ranges without needing to aim. These heroes have caused many to quit the game and move on to other games like “Apex Legends.”
