Whether you play video games, or do not, most games have overlapping similarities.. Most of the time, if someone sees similarities between two things, we like to compare and contrast those two things; to see what is the better option. As someone who currently plays both Marvel Rivals and Overwatch 2, there are definitely similarities and differences between both games.
Overwatch was originally released in 2016 and had huge success. Overwatch can be described as a first-person hero shooter game. The game was viewed as unique based on the different game modes (which consisted of a 6v6 match), as well as the art style of the characters.
On the other hand, Marvel Rivals was recently released in December 2024 and the developers spent countless hours perfecting their game. Marvel Rivals is a third-person hero shooter game that consists of a 6v6 match.
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According to SteamDB, Overwatch 2 had a peak of 75.6k players over a year ago while Marvel Rivals had a peak of 644.2k players at least 31 days ago. Some of those new players trying Marvel Rivals even consisted of those from the Overwatch 2 fanbase, who are moving on to new games. The two games were released at different times, and they both received mixed reviews. Overwatch 2 has 22.1% of positive reviews, while Marvel Rivals has 81.3% positive reviews.
While there is a clear winner based on statistics for positivity, the in-game features can differ. As an Overwatch player since 2017, I can say that the game has barely changed. The last big change that occurred was Overwatch being replaced with Overwatch 2 and replacing the 6v6 match with a 5v5. Some minimal changes that occurred were that they incorporated a battle pass, new maps and occasionally a new hero.
I was lucky enough to obtain an access key to play Marvel Rivals before it came out, and I could tell that this game was special. The game has a unique feature called Destructible Environments, which allows for all players to destroy parts of the map. Along with Destructible Environments, the game now has a team-up ability for two or more heroes which allows for a combined ability to increase an attack.
Although Marvel Rivals has gained huge popularity at the moment, if you do not meet the minimum system requirements, you cannot play the game. Comparing the two games, Overwatch 2 requires only 50 GB of storage, while Marvel Rivals requires 70 GB of storage. Less players are able to download Marvel Rivals due to the higher storage requirements.
There are mixed reactions toward people’s opinions on whether or not one is a copy, due to the games’ similarities. Marvel Rivals based their heroes on the Marvel Comics, Overwatch 2 has based their heroes off of sketches. Some of the hero abilities are similar to each other, for example, Black Widow and Widowmaker; Scarlet Witch and Moira; the list could go on. These characters have almost identical features, such as their way of giving damage, their ultimate abilities and even the way they run.
There is a lot of talk that Marvel Rivals is the reason why Overwatch 2 is continuing to drop in players. Both games are quite similar in that they have casual, competitive and even arcade modes. They also have similar objectives between defending/attacking a point and moving a payload.
Although both games are similar, players tend to lean toward Marvel Rivals as the better option as playing a character from the Marvel Comics is surreal. I will continue to play both games even though it seems like a majority has moved to Marvel Rivals and has already forgotten about Overwatch 2.