Overwatch 2’s director admits Blizzard is feeling “pressure” from Marvel Rivals

Overwatch 2 Director Aaron Keller says the release of Marvel Rivals has put the dev team at Blizzard under pressure, but that they’re excited to use the opportunity as a way to show what they can really do.

While it’s no secret that Marvel Rivals has been hitting Overwatch 2 hard and that many of the biggest creators have left to play the shiny new game, it isn’t as if Season 15 and 16’s massive content offerings are a direct response.

The devs have been working on these new features for years, with them being polished up just in time to answer back to what Aaron views as the biggest competitor they’ve ever had in the space.

Overwatch 2’s devs are watching Marvel Rivals closely

In an interview with GamesRadar’s Patrick Dane, he asked Keller directly about what it’s been like trying to keep up with Marvel Rivals’ release and keep Overwatch 2 on track.

The OW director didn’t shy away from answering, revealing what many players thought to be the case: Yes, Blizzard is feeling the pressure.

“There is pressure on the Overwatch team, and a lot of it is internal. It’s [asking] how do we make the best possible game that we can? And we’ve been feeling it for a while,” Keller explained.

“You know, a lot of the things that we’re announcing for Seasons 15 and 16, like perks and Stadium, they’re things that have been in development for Overwatch for quite some time. And I think what’s driving that is, when we look at our game, we feel like it’s either missing something or it hasn’t evolved as much as it should have.”

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The director expressed that he feels as if Overwatch 2 matches can feel like “going through the motions” for experienced players, and that he wants to shake up the formula and add new gameplay elements like Season 15’s perks.

“We want to take the game and evolve it to be bigger than what it is now, and to make those changes. To not just say, ‘Hey, what’s the best thing for Overwatch?’ – the whole shooter and gaming landscape is changing over time, and how do we make something that appeals to those players?”

In a follow-up question, Keller referred to a post-Rivals world as being a “new competitive landscape” for Blizzard, one that comes with new challenges to overcome.

“We’re obviously in a new competitive landscape that I think, for Overwatch, we’ve never really been in before, to this extent where there’s another game that’s so similar to the one that we’ve created. There’s actually something kind of exciting about this, for a few reasons,” he explained.

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“It’s really great to see a game kind of take a different direction with some of the things you’ve kind of looked at before. But also, we think it’s a forcing function to our team – this is no longer about playing it safe. And I really think that seasons 15 and 16 are us not playing it safe. But really it’s a forcing function to execute – and for a team of super passionate craftspeople, that’s like music to their ears.”

So, while Blizzard is more than aware of Marvel Rivals knocking at their door as their biggest competitor ever, they’re also not afraid to rise to the challenge.

After all, there may be room for more than one hero shooter at the top of the market.