Sure! Here it goes:
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So, Overwatch 2’s Aaron Keller just dropped this little nugget. Apparently, Marvel Rivals — despite all the buzz it created — didn’t really push them to whip up new stuff. Yeah, the superhero shooter kinda lit a match under Overwatch 2, but Blizzard hasn’t been rushing to make things it wasn’t already planning.
Okay, so when Marvel Rivals launched back in December 2024, everyone was eyeballing Overwatch 2. NetEase decided to lean hard on Blizzard’s magic, and Marvel Rivals gave a fresh spin to issues Overwatch 2 was still juggling. Fast forward a few months, and bam! Overwatch 2 started splashing out with major hits like Perks, Stadium, Hero Bans, Map Voting — all those fun things.
Now, a quick detour here — I always found it hilarious how game developers casually chat on streams. Anyway, back to the story. So, during one of these casual chit-chats on Jay3’s stream, Conor McLeod (the voice behind Hazard) asked Keller if Marvel Rivals nudged Overwatch 2 toward success. Keller’s answer? A sort of yes-but-no-but-yes. He’s all for healthy competition forcing folks to put their best foot out there. Still, he insists all the cool stuff Overwatch 2 rolled out was already in the oven long before Rivals came along.
Curiously though, Keller also confessed that Marvel Rivals did make them shuffle their schedule a bit. Hero Bans, for instance, got their release date bumped up, arguably because Rivals already used them for high-level matches. But, even with that little shuffle, the Hero Bans weren’t something they magically cooked up overnight just to counter Rivals. It was, quite frankly, always part of their grand plan.
But hang on, not everyone’s buying it. Skeptics are huffing about how Overwatch 2’s timings seem suspiciously convenient. Though, honestly, concocting complex systems like Perks and Stadium takes ages, not just a few short months. So even if Marvel Rivals’ launch did shake up their timeline, it likely didn’t actually birth these features.
At the end of the day, the rivalry’s been like rocket fuel for both games. As Keller put it, maybe not the coziest thing for the game crew, yet undeniably a healthy nudge. Now, buckle up — Overwatch 2 is revving up for some epic stuff the rest of this year and beyond. Season 18 onward, things are gonna get wild. Or, as Keller teased, brace yourself for even bigger things from the team in this heated race. Exciting times, folks!
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