‘Overwatch 2’ hits 25million players in 10 days

Overwatch 2 hasn’t had the smoothest of launches, but it seemingly hasn’t kept people away – as the game saw 25million players in its first 10 days from release.

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That figure comes from a Blizzard press release, in which the company noted that Overwatch 2 had “nearly tripled” the daily player peak for the original Overwatch. Blizzard president Mike Ybarra hailed the game’s launch as an “important moment” for Blizzard, adding:

“We’re thrilled to bring new players from around the world into Overwatch’s vibrant universe while welcoming back the existing Blizzard community. This is only the beginning—there are so many possibilities to explore in the world of Overwatch, and we cannot wait for players to experience everything the team is building for the live game.”

Overwatch 2 might be popular, but the game has been besieged with issues and negative headlines from day one. The game has fallen victim to multiple DDoS attacks, Blizzard has had to disable some heroes due to bugs, and players have complained about both the game’s monetisation model as well as its mobile verification system. It’s quite the list of issues, given that Overwatch 2 released just over a week ago on October 4.

In the face of this deeply troubled launch, Blizzard has had to apologise to fans, offering them double XP, a weapon charm and a free legendary skin. Anyone who logs into the game between October 25 and the end of season one will receive a brand new Cursed Captain Reaper legendary skin as well as a health pack weapon charm.

The company acknowledged that Overwatch 2 had “run into some issues,” and apologised for the less than stellar launch while promising to “consistently” investigate issues “as they arise.”

In other gaming news, developer ArenaNet has announced that Guild Wars 2 will be introducing a brand new story event featuring an NPC based on a real-life hero.