Overwatch is a Global Hit with Seven Million Players, Report

Blizzard’s Overwatch enjoyed an incredible first week.

According to a press release distributed by Blizzard, the team-based multiplayer shooter has over 7 million players who have cumulatively logged more than 119 million hours of play time. Specific sales numbers aren’t mentioned, but Blizzard does call the release “one of the most successful global game launches of all time.”

“Over the months and weeks leading up to release we saw a lot of love and support for Overwatch—from Blizzard gamers, FPS fans, and people who’d never picked up a game like this before—and we’re very grateful for everyone’s incredible passion and enthusiasm,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We poured a lot of effort into creating a game—and a new universe—that anyone could enjoy. We’re ecstatic to have had such a successful launch, and we’re looking forward to all of the fun, competition, and new content still to come.”

Since launch, players have swapped heroes 326 million times and teamed up to deliver 11 million payloads to their destinations on the battlefields of tomorrow. In addition to being a smash with players around the world, Overwatch is a critical hit, and is one of the best-reviewed games of the year. GameSpot has called Overwatch “something spectacular,” while Forbes wrote that “Overwatch, quite simply, is a miracle” and that it’s “a game for everyone.” According to Game Informer, “Overwatch is an amazing experience,” concluding in its 10-out-of-10 review that “things will never be the same.”

Agencies/Canadajournal