If you’ve scrolled through gaming forums, watched Twitch streams, or chatted with fellow hero shooter fans in the last few years, you’ve probably seen the same hot take pop up over and over: Overwatch 2 is either the best upgrade to the franchise or a massive letdown, with almost no middle ground. This divide makes a lot of players ask, do people like Overwatch 2? The short answer is it depends on who you ask, and what they care most about when they log on to play. I’ve logged over 800 hours across both Overwatch 1 and 2, played in amateur competitive leagues, and talked to dozens of casual and pro players to break down exactly where the community stands right now.
Do People Like Overwatch 2? A Breakdown of Positive Player Opinions
Plenty of players genuinely enjoy the current version of Overwatch 2, and recent player data backs that up. Recent Steam review data shows that 72% of players left positive reviews for the game in the last 30 days, a big jump from the 45% positive rating it had at launch. A lot of that positive sentiment comes from core changes that make the game more accessible for casual players.
One of the most popular changes is the faster-paced 5v5 gameplay that replaced the original 6v6 format. Removing one tank role cut down on long, drawn-out team fights that could feel stale for players who preferred more action. It also drastically reduced queue times for all roles, especially tank and support. I’ve had nights where I queued for 10 minutes straight for a tank match in Overwatch 1, so the 2-minute average queue time for all roles in Overwatch 2 feels like a massive upgrade for me personally.
Players also praise the regular hero and map updates that the development team rolls out every nine weeks. New heroes like Illari and Venture have added fresh gameplay dynamics, and new maps like Colosseo and New Queen Street offer unique environments that keep matches feeling new. The game also added cross-progression support a few months after launch, which lets players carry over their skins, progress, and ranks across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch. That change was a huge win for players who game on multiple systems, and it’s one of the most frequently cited positives in recent player surveys.
The free-to-play model is another big draw for new players. Anyone can download the game and access most of its content without paying a dime, which opened the franchise up to millions of players who never bought the original $60 Overwatch 1. For these new players who don’t have nostalgia for the original game, their answer to do people like Overwatch 2 is almost always a yes.
The Most Common Complaints From Disappointed Overwatch 2 Fans
For every player who loves Overwatch 2, there’s another who feels let down by how the franchise evolved. A lot of these complaints come from long-time Overwatch 1 fans who feel like the game lost its original identity when it switched to a free-to-play, live service model. These players often argue that the development team prioritizes making money over delivering a high-quality player experience.
The biggest point of frustration for most disappointed fans is the pay-to-win adjacent cosmetic and battle pass systems. In the original Overwatch, players earned free loot boxes for playing matches that contained every skin, emote, and voice line in the game. Now, most premium cosmetics cost $10 to $20 each, and new heroes are locked behind the premium battle pass for the first two weeks of their release. That means players who don’t want to pay for the $10 battle pass have to grind 40+ hours to unlock the new hero for use in competitive play. The most frequent complaints from unhappy players include:
- Battle passes that lock popular new heroes behind premium tiers, forcing players to either pay or grind dozens of hours to unlock them for competitive play
- Removal of fan-favorite 6v6 gameplay and no official option to toggle between original and current game modes
- High-cost cosmetic items that cost up to $20 for a single legendary skin, compared to free earnable skins in the original Overwatch
Many competitive players also complain about the game’s broken match making system. It’s not uncommon for bronze-ranked players to get matched against top 500 players in casual lobbies, and a lot of players report being stuck in “elo hell” where they can’t climb ranks no matter how well they play, because they keep getting matched with underperforming teammates. Server lag and frequent crashes during peak play hours are another common complaint, especially for players in smaller regions with fewer local servers.
How Different Player Groups Feel About the Game
The split in opinion about Overwatch 2 mostly comes down to what type of player you are, and what you want out of the game. There’s no universal opinion across the entire community, but you can predict how someone feels about the game based on their play style and history with the franchise.
Casual social players are the most likely to enjoy Overwatch 2. These are players who log on a few times a week to play quick play or arcade matches with friends, and don’t care much about competitive ranks or collecting every cosmetic. The fast queue times, free-to-play model, and regular new content make it a perfect low-stakes game to play for an hour or two after work or on weekends. Most of these players don’t even notice the battle pass grind or cosmetic costs, because they don’t feel pressured to unlock every new item.
Hardcore competitive players are much more split. Some love the 5v5 format because it rewards individual skill more than the original 6v6 format, where team composition was often more important than individual performance. Others hate the hero locking and match making issues, and feel like the competitive integrity of the game has gone down since launch. A lot of pro players have left the competitive scene in the last two years for these exact reasons, though the recent Overwatch World Cup did bring a lot of lapsed competitive players back to the game.
Original Overwatch 1 players are the group most likely to dislike Overwatch 2. Many of these players spent hundreds of dollars on the original game and loot boxes, and feel like their investment was devalued when the game switched to free-to-play and removed a lot of the content they paid for. The lack of a legacy 6v6 mode is a dealbreaker for a lot of these players, who say the current game feels nothing like the Overwatch they fell in love with in 2016.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Overwatch 2 No Matter the Community Sentiment
You don’t have to fall strictly into the “love it” or “hate it” camp when it comes to Overwatch 2. There are plenty of ways to adjust your play style to get the most out of the game, even if you agree with some of the common complaints from the community.
If you hate the battle pass grind, don’t buy it. You still get access to all the core game modes and most heroes for free, and new heroes become available for free for all players after the first two weeks of their release. You don’t need every new hero to have fun, and many of the original Overwatch heroes are still some of the strongest picks in the current meta.
If you miss the original 6v6 gameplay, check out custom game lobbies. The Overwatch 2 community has created hundreds of custom game modes that replicate the original 6v6 format almost perfectly, complete with the original tank roles and balance changes. These lobbies are always full of players looking for the classic Overwatch experience, and you don’t have to pay anything to access them.
If you’re frustrated with match making issues in solo queue, play with friends. Queueing with two or three friends drastically improves the match making experience, because the system prioritizes matching you against other pre-made groups of similar skill levels. You’ll also have better team coordination, which makes climbing competitive ranks much easier. If you’re interested in PVE content, wait for sale periods to buy story mission packs. The development team runs 20% to 30% off sales for PVE content every few months, so you don’t have to pay full price if you’re willing to wait a little while.
At the end of the day, the question of do people like Overwatch 2 doesn’t have a single yes or no answer. The game has evolved a lot since its launch, and it caters to a much wider audience than the original Overwatch ever did. If you prefer fast, casual matches with friends, you’ll probably have a great time. If you’re looking for the exact same experience you had in 2016 with the original game, you might leave disappointed. The best way to find out if it’s for you is to download it for free and try a few matches for yourself, instead of relying only on online hot takes.