Overwatch has ebbed and flowed in reputation over the previous decade, and with the discharge of Season 1, it is clear that the longer term has by no means seemed brighter for Blizzard’s hero shooter. Not solely is Blizzard dropping 5 new characters, however it’s additionally planning to launch new seasons each two months, every that includes a brand new hero, skins, and stability modifications to maintain the sport contemporary.
In hindsight, it is honest to say that the discharge of Overwatch 2 was a catastrophe. The transition to a free-to-play dwell service multiplayer recreation arrived with many shortsighted kinks, alongside the promise of a PvE mode that by no means got here to move, tarnishing Overwatch’s status. To make issues worse, Marvel Rivals launched in late 2024, setting new requirements for the hero shooter style with character launches occurring each two months. To place that into context, after lower than two years, the Marvel Rivals characters record is sort of the identical dimension because the Overwatch roster.
Blizzard actually kicked into gear in 2025 by specializing in the weather that make Overwatch particular. The addition of perks gave gamers methods to counter tough match-ups on the fly, the three heroes launched all year long have been all positively obtained, and the introduction of the Stadium recreation mode is basically a model new recreation. Essentially the most tough side that always will get missed is the sport’s balancing, an space that Blizzard has labored onerous on, to make sure that gamers aren’t simply choosing the identical heroes each single match.
Whereas I attempted my greatest to persuade my buddies that Overwatch was legitimately good once more, the injury had already been carried out. In spite of everything, even our very personal Lauren Bergin highlighted the sport’s inefficiencies when she marked the sport with a disappointing 6/10 rating in our Overwatch 2 evaluation. “Do I nonetheless want to purchase the battle move to unlock the brand new hero?” and “Did they add again in 6v6?” are a few of the questions I am pressured to reply, figuring out deep down that it is subsequent to inconceivable to persuade individuals who have made up their minds.
With the discharge of Season 1, it is instantly rather a lot simpler to elucidate why Overwatch is price taking part in once more. All 5 of the brand new characters appear to be they’ve the potential to shake up the meta, and the truth that they’re launching on the similar time means we’ll see a right away shift over the subsequent month. I am significantly to see what influence Jetpack Cat goes to have on our Overwatch tier record, provided that she’s the primary character who can disrupt fights by hauling gamers out of fight.
Overwatch Season 1 represents every little thing Overwatch 2 ought to have been when it launched again in 2023. The messaging is crystal clear this time round: Overwatch is a well-balanced PvP shooter with substantial updates arriving each two months. The sweeping modifications in 2025 proved that Overwatch was really again, and this newest season makes that message unmistakable to the broader gaming world because it kicks off the 12 months with a bang.
Elsewhere on PCGamesN we now have the newest on the Anran controversy and a full Overwatch characters record with all the brand new heroes.
