Ninja claims Overwatch is “dead” as Marvel Rivals could last a decade

Popular streamer Ninja has claimed that Overwatch is “dead,” as Marvel Rivals has everything it needs to keep thriving for years to come.

Marvel Rivals draws plenty of inspiration from Overwatch, both in the way the characters are designed and how the matches work. As a result, many OW fans have jumped over to the new hero shooter, causing its player count to hit record lows.

This is a little understandable, given the excitement that’s surrounded Marvel Rivals since its launch. However, Ninja believes this is more than just a temporary buzz and that Blizzard’s shooter might never fully recover.

Ninja thinks Overwatch 2 is “dead and gone”

Speaking on a recent livestream, the streaming star declared that Overwatch is “dead and gone,” since NetEase already have enough source material to cover the next decade.

“I mean, it’s just so unfortunate,” he explained. “[Marvel Rivals] already has a new map coming, which is incredible. Second, they have so much lore and so many heroes, villains, and anti-heroes. They have enough for updates for the next 10 years.” 

Marvel Rivals devs have already confirmed that they want to release new heroes every six weeks or so. This would see the game’s roster of characters grow bigger than its rival within the next couple of years, as Blizzard drop heroes every two seasons.

As Ninja mentioned, NetEase have a wealth of material to draw from, with decades worth of comic book characters waiting to be added. Meanwhile, OW has to come up with new characters from scratch, all while creating unique abilities and finding a place for them within the lore.

He also went on to compare the rollout of the two games, claiming that the launch of Overwatch 2 was “abysmal” and calling it more of an update.” There’s also the PVE mode, which was much-anticipated gaming the community, but was ultimately scrapped.

While the success of Marvel Rivals has undoubtedly affected its fellow hero shooter, OW still attracts thousands of players every single day. There’s also plenty on the horizon to look forward to, with Season 15 right around the corner and major gameplay changes set to be announced at the Spotlight event.