Overwatch has hit its second-highest concurrent player count on Steam just days before a major rebrand and content reset, marking its strongest showing on the platform since launch.

The hero shooter peaked at 69,881 concurrent players over the weekend of February 7/8, comfortably outpacing rivals like Apex Legends and Call of Duty. The spike comes ahead of Blizzard’s decision to reset the game to Season 1, drop the “2” from its name, and roll out a year-long narrative event aimed at pulling lapsed players back in.

It’s a notable turnaround for a title that has spent much of the past few years on the defensive. Following a rocky Steam launch in 2023 and the eventual cancellation of its long-promised PvE mode, player sentiment around Blizzard’s flagship shooter leaned more toward fatigue than faith.

Steam Numbers Back Up Momentum

According to SteamDB, Overwatch’s near-70,000 peak is the highest concurrent count the game has recorded since its debut week on Steam. The surge pushed it into the top 20 most-played games on the platform, sitting 18th overall at the time of writing.

As of early February 2026, Overwatch is posting higher concurrent player numbers than both Apex Legends (50,495) and Call of Duty (41,117), proving there is some serious interest ahead of its next update.

The February 10 content drop includes:

• Ten new heroes, including a jetpack-wielding cat
• A full UI and progression overhaul
• The start of a year-long story-driven event

Critical Moment for Blizzard in 2026

The numbers suggest Blizzard’s rebrand could be landing at exactly the right time. Dropping the “2” and refocusing the live service around a more cohesive narrative feels like an admission that the previous direction wasn’t working.

In a crowded shooter market, outperforming established names and even edging past titles like Battlefield 6 on Steam is no small feat. It also reinforces a familiar point: when Overwatch is backed by meaningful updates, its core gameplay still holds up.

If the February 10 update launches smoothly, the game could realistically push past its all-time Steam peak of 75,608 concurrent players.

For now, though, Overwatch’s comeback looks real — and 2026 is shaping up to be its most important year in a long time.