Overwatch 2 Developer Isn't Concerned About Dropping Player Numbers

Key developers at Blizzard Entertainment that work on Overwatch 2 aren't concerned about the multiplayer shooter's declining player counts. Since entering its early access phase near the end of 2022, Overwatch 2's player totals have slowly started to dip across all platforms. And while this might normally be a cause for concern with a multiplayer-centric title, Blizzard doesn't seem to be stressed about what it's seen so far. 

In an interview with IGN, Overwatch 2's executive producer Jared Neuss addressed the lower player totals that the game has seen recently. As a whole, Neuss attributed this drop in players to the fact that Overwatch 2 is now a free-to-play title. With this in mind, Neuss said that players will come and go a bit more freely than in the past and may move on to other games. As such, Blizzard overall has found "nothing concerning" for the time being. 

"The declining stuff is basically, we are a free-to-play game and it is very easy to both come to the game and check it out, and to leave to check out other stuff," Neuss said. "We see a normal ebb and flow of players. There's nothing concerning to me or the team about any of that."

In a general sense, it's hard to dispute the case that Neuss has made. With the original Overwatch, the game wasn't free-to-play, which meant that those who bought the title were a bit more committed to playing it on a routine basis. While Overwatch 2 has lowered the barrier of entry to play, this also opens the door to player numbers being far more varied. Whether or not OW2 will reach the point that Blizzard finds its player counts to be a concern remains to be seen, but we clearly aren't at that point just yet. 

What do you think about Blizzard's response to the dwindling player counts in Overwatch 2? And do you think that these totals will continue to lower in the future? Let me know either down in the comments or reach out to me on Twitter at @MooreMan12.