Ever since Overwatch first came out in 2016, it enjoyed much popularity and success over the years. This team-based multiplayer FPS game was both developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment and is described as a “hero shooter”. Its battle royale format assigned players into two teams of six, each selecting one from a large roster of characters known as “heroes”, each boasting unique abilities.

But is it still basking in the spotlight? Here and now, in 2022, many people are thoroughly convinced that Overwatch is long dead, considering its declining player count among other reasons. In this article, we will be looking at its current player counts, reasons why its dying, possibilities of there still being hope, average player ranks and daily matches played to analyze what is really happening to the once-popular Overwatch.

Overwatch Player Count in 2022

Player count means a lot for every online game. It speaks volumes about the game’s popularity, its immediate future and how well it is faring overall. As per Active Player records and statistics, Overwatch had stacked up at least 5 million players on average in each month of 2022. The peak amounts went as high as 7.3 million too. When it comes to daily counts, it reached a peak of roughly 500 000 players within the year.

Now, this is not really a high amount considering Overwatch’s prominent competitors like Valorant, Fortnite and Apex Legends. But the numbers aren’t incredibly bad either, so there is still hope. It is worth mentioning that Overwatch hadn’t received any pivotal new content since Echo’s release in April 2020. Only new skins and maps were released to keep the players at bay; while the competition kept innovating. Will things improve after Overwatch 2’s debut? Only time will tell for sure!

Overwatch Player Count in 2020

How popular was Overwatch last year, in 2020? Quarantine started for most of us in that fateful year and many Online games experienced floods of new players constantly flowing into their servers. On average each month, roughly 6 000 000 players were detected. The fluctuations were mostly plus or minus 500 000. The peak number of players per day remained at around 250 000 as well. Once again, the numbers weren’t all that impressive, especially considering the statistics of the many Free-to-Play games that were released in that year.

Overwatch Active Player Count

As of now, in December 2021, the active player count of Overwatch remains at around 5 million on average per month. As such the Live player count fluctuates around 200 000 on average on a daily basis. If we are to consider the top five countries by their active daily participation in the game: 24.91% in USA, 8.11% in Russia, 7.09% in Brazil, 5.41% in UK and 5.30% in Germany. Roughly 700 000 players are detectable online at peak hours. However, the issue lies in the highly variable numbers considering the time and place. These numbers suggest the game is slowly receding southward, but it’s not dead quite yet.

The Average Overwatch Rank

Overwatch is a highly competitive online multiplayer game. Thus, the Ranking system allows its player base to show off their standing ingame, in an acceptable and organized manner. The Skill Rating (SR) distribution across the PC,Xbox and Console platforms on average as as follows,

  • Bronze – 8%
  • Silver – 21%
  • Gold – 32%
  • Platinum – 25%
  • Diamond – 10%
  • Master – 3%
  • Grandmaster – 1%

For those unfamiliar with the skill cap for these ranks;

  • Bronze – 1 to 1499 SR
  • Silver – 1500 to 1999 SR
  • Gold – 2000 to 2499 SR
  • Platinum – 2500 to 2999 SR
  • Diamond – 3000 to 3499 SR
  • Master – 3500 to 3999 SR
  • Grandmaster – 4000+ SR

From the above statistics, some important conclusions can be made. Around 50% of the player base are within Gold tier or below. Anyone who achieves Platinum can pat themselves on the back, as they’ve become part of the top 77%. Another neat detail is there seem to be fewer low-rank players on the console. Above them, Diamond tier players remain a restricted group, while Masters and Grandmasters are the elite. These high SR players represent the top 3% worldwide, so their skills are not to be undermined.

The Overwatch League

After about half a year from its release, rumors of the first-ever Overwatch League appeared and this seemed to be quite the natural development. Fans expected it to be the next big esports title to take its place amidst the already established and highest-grossing games.

Thus a Franchise League demanding multi-million dollar purchases by players right off the bat began. Yet dedicated Overwatch fans and eager investors went ahead with it hoping for the best. Unfortunately, despite the initial season of the League doing fairly okay, it wasn’t as groundbreaking as they hoped. The revolution they expected did not come about and the millions of dollars spent on it were left unjustified. Like most flashy new games, Overwatch slowly started to crack underneath the weight of its expectations.

The biggest issues lay in developers being unable to keep up with the meta, maintain the balance, and keep players engaged. Thus with new hero introductions, older ones were massively reworked, to the dismay of many players.

The 2018 GOATS meta marked the game’s lowest state of balance, following Mercy’s imbalance. The player base suffered a massive shot here, showing steady signs of decline.

Overwatch 2

In an attempt to stay on top and combat the trend, Blizzard announced Overwatch 2 at BlizzCon back in 2019. The reaction they got was far from what they expected; it received more scrutiny and over-enthusiasm. To many, this “sequel” seemed to be more of an expansion pack. Blizzard still promised Overwatch players to access to new content, but this sadly marked the end of regular updates for the prequel. This was a deadly blow to the player base, who were used to getting three new heroes a year and new maps every few months. The only notable new additions were Echo as 2020’s only hero release and Kanezaka, a Deathmatch-only map back in January.

Do people still Watch Overwatch?

Following 2020, there was a steep decline in the number of viewers for the Overwatch League. The third season’s grand finals Viewer count only served to confirm the unmistakable decline. In 2020’s San Francisco Shock’s second title, only 183 000 people even bothered to open up the stream.

So is Overwatch dead?

Practically speaking, as of now, NOT YET. While only around 2 000 people were playing it on Twitch while the OWL season’s premiere was coming up close, the numbers were quick to pick up shortly afterward. It’s a fact that player counts aren’t at an all-time high, but they are still decent. While the chances of it dying off remain in the future, it is still alive at the moment and is quite likely facing a slow deterioration. Whether Overwatch 2 will bring the game back up to its full glory is still a mystery, and in all honesty, most fans have long lost hope.

On the bright side, Overwatch is a great choice of game for those of you who are tired of other Battle Royals, CSGO, and Valorant. Whether you are a new player, returning player, or veteran, this is the time to step into the realm once more. Overwatch is definitely a super fun game, especially when playing with friends. If you find yourself at a stalemate, wanting to grow stronger, improve your skills and grind Rank faster, consider getting some Overwatch boost. This is a very viable solution that will serve as a profound learning experience and a great way to catch up to your peers. Do not hesitate to get the upper hand in Overwatch today!