Controversial Twist: Surprising Source of Negative Reviews Floods Overwatch 2 on Steam!

Highlights

Overwatch 2 has received a wave of negative reviews on Steam, with 91% of the reviews being negative, and the majority of these negative reviews coming from Chinese players.

Blizzard's suspension of game services in China due to failed negotiations with Chinese publisher NetEase has left Chinese players feeling frustrated. As a result, many of them are contemplating playing Overwatch 2 on global servers using VPN. In fact, 53% of them have expressed their willingness to return to the game if Blizzard were to relaunch it with a national server.

While the release of Overwatch 2 on Steam technically allows Chinese players to play again, the game continues to receive several negative reviews. This is primarily due to persistent issues and the absence of promised PvE content.

The majority of negative reviews for Overwatch 2 on Steam are originating from China, as per a tweet. The game has once again become a hot topic due to the release of Season 6, which has brought forth another unique situation in its history.

Ever since its launch, Overwatch 2 has faced challenges related to bugs, glitches, balance issues, and inconsistent matchmaking. However, Season 6 managed to gather positive attention by introducing the new support hero Illari, the Flashpoint mode, and additional PvE missions to advance the game's storyline. Blizzard also made the decision to release Overwatch 2 on Steam, which has resulted in a significant influx of negative reviews. A recent tweet has shed light on the cause behind this development.

Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad reported that a significant portion of negative reviews for Overwatch 2 on Steam are from Chinese players. According to Ahmad, out of the over 100,000 reviews, 91% of them are negative. He also highlighted that approximately two-thirds of these negative reviews, equivalent to 63,000 comments, were written in simplified Chinese. Chinese players raised similar concerns as international players, such as the lack of promised PvE content in Overwatch 2 and the high prices of in-game content. This influx of negative reviews resulted in Overwatch 2 becoming the lowest-rated game on Steam, surpassing the previous holder, War of the Three Kingdoms.

The frustration among Chinese players began when Blizzard suspended game services in China due to a disagreement with Chinese publisher NetEase. As a result, popular Blizzard games like World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, Starcraft 2, and Hearthstone became inaccessible to Chinese players. A survey conducted by Ahmad's company revealed that 40% of Chinese players were considering playing Overwatch 2 on a global server using a VPN. Additionally, 53% of players expressed interest in playing again if Blizzard relaunched Overwatch 2 in China with a dedicated national server.

With the release of Overwatch 2 on Steam, Chinese players now have the opportunity to play the game and explore its new progression system and additional features. Unlike other parts of the world, Chinese players can access the international version of Steam without the need for a VPN. It's no surprise that Overwatch 2 has received numerous negative reviews in such a short period of time in China. Unfortunately, there is no indication of when Blizzard games will become available again in the country. However, with Microsoft's recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard gaining approval in China, there is a possibility that Overwatch 2 may return to the Chinese gaming market in the future.

Overwatch 2 can be enjoyed on various platforms such as PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.