Overwatch smashed its Steam all-time peak at the launch of Season 1, with 165,651 players online at once, which is way higher than the 75,000 it hit back on launch day in August 2023.
This explosion happened right as Season 1 went live on Feb. 10, with Blizzard dropping the “2” from the name, starting “The Reign of Talon” storyline, and unleashing five brand-new heroes: Domina the tank, Emre on damage, Mizuki for support, Anran as a flanker damage dealer, and Jetpack Cat bringing support with permanent flight.
Numbers were already climbing before launch. Over the weekend, Overwatch topped 69,881 concurrent players, its best since its debut and enough to edge out Apex Legends and Call of Duty on Steam charts.
At the time of writing, it’s holding fourth place with more than 131,000 still playing. These numbers are just on Steam alone; the total count should be much higher if we combine Battle.net numbers and console players. On top of that, Twitch viewers spiked above 210,000, a peak in 24 hours, with more than 151,000 watching at the time of writing.
Season 1 isn’t just about heroes. Everyone got competitive rank resets for a clean slate. New “Hero Sub-Passives” add depth, tanks get bruiser perks like reduced crit damage, or stalwart types shrug off knockbacks. Hero Gauntlet mode got Vendetta content and a Hero Builder for tweaks.
Loot is flowing too, with 75 base lootboxes, epic and legendary pulls, new voice lines, charms, and faction-themed skins like Echo legendaries. Look for Mei’s Mythic mid-season, Valentine’s event, and a Hello Kitty collab all during this patch.
Reign of Talon ties everything together. Talon allies like Domina (Vishkar heir with poke beams and shields) and Emre (cybernetic mobile soldier) versus Overwatch holdouts. Jetpack Cat‘s got pulsing heals, knockbacks, and a tether ultimate that sounds wild.
This resets the field, as sub-roles shake up metas, initiators heal in the air, and survivors push through damage, especially when Overwatch has had rough patches, including a rocky OW2 launch and the cancellation of PvE.
