Blizzard‘s game, under its old-new name, has reached a notably large audience – but a strong start won’t be enough to guarantee long-term success.
Last week, Blizzard Entertainment held its second presentation kicking off 2026, the Overwatch Spotlight, focusing on the game’s future and what players can expect over the coming year. Beyond the official name change – which means the game is once again called Overwatch – we also got a closer look at Season 1, Reign of Talon, which has now officially launched. The showcase clearly injected new energy into the Overwatch community: according to the post-event press release, the game not only enjoyed its biggest weekend for player activity in over a year, but Season 1’s rollout also set a new peak for concurrent players on Steam.
Right now, Overwatch sits at 85,683 concurrent players on Steam, surpassing its previous peak of 75,608 when Overwatch (then still known as Overwatch 2) launched on Steam back in 2023. The all-time record stands at 165,651 concurrent players. Across 2026, Blizzard plans to add 10 new heroes to the game, with five arriving in Season 1. Those five are Domina (tank), Emre (damage), Mizuki (support), Anran (damage), and Jetpack Cat (support).
Veterans will recognize the familiar hero roles, but it’s worth noting that today’s update and Season 1 also bring multiple mechanical changes, including the introduction of subclasses that further categorize every hero alongside the core support, damage, and tank roles. Blizzard has also introduced a new narrative structure where each hero’s story unfolds through films, animated comics, in-game events, and map updates. In the first film, Vendetta defeats Doomfist – you can watch it below if you missed it during the Spotlight.
One thing still feels oddly unnecessary: why do franchises keep naming a new installment exactly like the original? Layers of Fear, Forza Motorsport, Lords of the Fallen – it’s mildly irritating.
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