Blizzard Entertainment is crediting Marvel Rivals with pushing the studio to take bigger creative risks in Overwatch, according to comments from SVP and head of development Walter Kong during a group interview I attended.
Kong said the game's December 2024 arrival in the hero shooter space forced Blizzard to reconsider ideas it had previously been too cautious to pursue. He described the impact as both intimidating and energizing for the team.
“I think the significance of Marvel Rivals launching to us was having a direct competitor in our space,” Kong said. “There were things they were doing that we had thought about, but were a bit conservative to try.”
He added that the competitive pressure created a shift in internal mindset, where playing it safe no longer felt like the lowest-risk option.
“When Marvel Rivals launched, it had a pretty meaningful impact on our game,” he said. “It scared us a bit… but on the other hand, it gave us license to go for it. To be less risk-averse.”
Kong said that this shift helped open the door for more experimental design decisions, pointing broadly to newer gameplay directions and systems being introduced in Overwatch 2’s ongoing updates....
