Overwatch 2 beta reaches 1.5 million concurrent Twitch viewers

Despite a tumultuous period within Activision Blizzard, it seems player interest in Overwatch 2 remains high, as the game reached an incredible milestone on Twitch, peaking at 1.5 million concurrent viewers on 27th April.

With the Overwatch 2 closed beta testing period starting on 26th April, users that were interested in partaking in it could earn Twitch drops by watching up to four hours of select partnered streamers.

Overwatch reaches over 1.5 million Twitch viewers

Such an enticing offer made an already strong viewership skyrocket, making Overwatch dominate Twitch for the majority of the day.

With high profile streamers like former Overwatch pro Félix "xQc" Lengyel, Imane "Pokimane" Anys, and Brandon "Seagull" Larned all averaging upwards of 150k viewers each, Overwatch players helped the sequel's beta break all-time viewership records, according to the official PlayOverwatch Twitter account.

"Together we reached over 1.5M concurrent views, the highest day ever for Overwatch on Twitch. Let’s go!" the PlayOverwatch Twitter account stated.

Even has the drops ended, the game sat at an impressive 400-500k viewers mark, a far cry from the meagre viewership numbers Overwatch had been getting over the past years. 

The game's beta features plenty of new content both old Overwatch veterans and newcomers will enjoy. The biggest change is the shift from 6v6 to 5v5, with the removal of one tank.

Such a massive transition meant that the development team had to rework almost every single hero for Overwatch 2, with some outright changing roles, such as Doomfist, which went from being a DPS to the game's newest tank.

The Overwatch 2 beta also introduces the first new hero to the franchise in over two years, Sojourn, a DPS hailing from Toronto, Canada, who so far is the only new addition in terms of heroes. 

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While the Overwatch 2 beta focuses solely on the multiplayer component of the game, the sequel will feature a robust single-player experience, with skill trees, replayable missions, a cinematic campaign, and more content that fans have been waiting for since the release of the first game back in 2016.

With this much excitement surrounding Overwatch 2, it seems the franchise is due for an incredible revival after the first game was all but abandoned, with no competitive maps or heroes in over two years. 

For more on all things related to the Overwatch 2, including hero guides, tier lists, and more check out our dedicated section.

Featured image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.