Blizzard was one of the companies that, along with Activision, Microsoft acquired this May for a figure that exceeds 68 billion dollars and that will end next year. However, the effects of this purchase, its business model and the acceleration of commitments are already beginning to be felt.
The game and its news
Overwatch 2 was able to effectively combine what attracted those first players in 2016 and what made it a media and commercial phenomenon. The style with roles within the 5vs5 game is coupled to a present in which the “arenas” are common. Games like Valorant, Apex Legends or Rouge Company take advantage of the format. However, in Overwatch we see it combined with futurism and fantasy, which gives a versatility of characters and abilities.
The role factor allows both experienced and new players to enjoy together. For example, if your skills aren’t in shot accuracy, support, or defense, that’s where it pays off. It’s like in football: you can’t have 11 strikers. You need a balance of mids and defenses, and that’s where Overwatch 2 shines.
The game sticks to its original format without feeling repetitive. The addition of new characters and maps, as well as game modes, turn it upside down so that the faithful feel the jump to the new generation of consoles, like looking to catch those who are new to the game.
The business model
As is customary in shooters, the game is available for free across platforms and even has cross play enabled between PlayStation, Xbox and PC. The loot system was changed, which managed to position the game as the sixth within the company to exceed the collection of 1,000 million sales within the game and move to the sale of the helpful battle pass and premium customizations.
This game will also be a crucial part of the Microsoft versus PlayStation controversy for monopolizing or privileging delivery on the Game Pass platform, as has happened with Call of Duty and its possible future exclusivity for consoles and the Xbox ecosystem.
the flaws
In the first week of launch, users reported various difficulties to play. Starting with the long waits, since in order to start the game you had to access a list that was around two or three thousand players and that could take up to 2 hours just to access.
This was triggered by the great expectation, but also, the same company reported that it was suffering from attacks on the servers, filling the queues and causing problems once entered. The house of cards began to fall when it was reported that those who managed to overcome the access line and with a few minutes of playing, the servers expelled them and had to wait a turn again in the endless line.
In its first week of release, the problems still persist and despite the fact that the company also announced maintenance on the servers, the long waits have not been reduced and, although the reports of attacks have decreased, the game is still not fully stabilized.
It’s important to note how crucial a pitch becomes for a game. The initial weeks are defining to catch or lose your fans forever. Just remember the phenomenon Cyberpunk 2077, which by rushing the launch after multiple delays of a game with systematic problems, resulted in a media and commercial catastrophe.
The bugs and not running as it should in previous console versions not only alienated players who, for the most part, had pre-purchased the game. The impact was so great that it even caused a 75% drop in the shares of CD Projekt Red, the company in charge of the game. And it is until a year later with updates, DLC gifts and even the release of a series on Netflix that it seems that the level of players recovers, even managing to announce a sequel.
Overwatch must take care of these initial moments, solve the problems and be consistent with the expectation placed on the game, otherwise the effect can be devastating. Effects that a company in the process of being purchased cannot afford to run.
