Overwatch Hits Record 165K Steam Peak After Name Change

Blizzard Entertainment’s hero shooter has officially made a historic comeback. On February 10, 2026, Overwatch (formerly Overwatch 2) achieved a massive resurgence in popularity, recording a new all-time peak of 165,651 concurrent players on Steam. This milestone comes more than two years after the game first arrived on Valve’s platform and follows a major "soft relaunch" where the developer abandoned the numbered sequel branding, reverting the title simply to Overwatch. Simultaneously, Blizzard released a massive content drop titled "Season 1: The Reign of Talon." The surge in player interest has completely obliterated the game's previous historical high.

According to data tracked by SteamDB, the new figure represents a dramatic increase over the former all-time high record of 75,361 players, set in August 2023. To put this explosion of interest into perspective, the game had been averaging closer to 30,000 monthly users in recent months. This week's spike marks a jump over those prior records, briefly pushing Overwatch past massive competitors like Call of Duty in active player counts.

It is important to note that these numbers likely represent just a fraction of the actual global population. The Steam figures do not account for the massive player base on Blizzard’s own Battle.net launcher, nor do they include players on Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch. FRVR suggests the total concurrent count could be five times higher than what is visible on Steam alone, though official numbers for those platforms remain undisclosed.

Reign of Talon Revamps Overwatch

The driving force behind this revitalization is undoubtedly the massive "Season 1: The Reign of Talon" update. The patch was substantial enough to cause server queues not seen in years, as players flocked to see what the hype was about. The update introduced a revamped, cleaner user interface that has been praised even by players usually averse to change, alongside a new narrative focus.

However, the biggest draw was the unprecedented simultaneous release of five new heroes, which has completely shaken up the gameplay. Other additions include Emre, who brings a feel reminiscent of Halo to the game, and Domina, a character who already looks poised to dominate the tank meta for the foreseeable future, as reported by PC Gamer. 

While the relaunch has successfully re-engaged lapsed players and attracted a wave of new users, the transition hasn't been entirely without stress for the hardcore community. "Team 4" at Blizzard made the controversial decision to introduce all five new heroes, including the recently teased Anran, directly into competitive play immediately. 

Despite these competitive hurdles, the momentum appears to be holding. Live trackers show player counts remaining strong, hovering above 49,952 even after the initial surge. After years of mixed reception regarding monetization and cancelled PvE features, Overwatch appears to have regained the trust of its community, proving that sometimes, going back to basics and dropping the '2' is the best way to move forward.