Marvel Rivals reaches 40 million players worldwide, but still trails Overwatch

Marvel Rivals reached 40 million players worldwide in about two and a half months after launch, Disney said, calling that performance a strong result for a game released only in 2024.

Disney also said that 60% of Marvel Rivals players are under the age of 24. In the company's view, that makes the game a place where a younger audience is actively communicating and expressing itself.

Sean Shoptaw, Disney's executive vice president of video games, also praised the superhero shooter's broad appeal:

For comparison, Blizzard Entertainment's original paid release of Overwatch sold more than 50 million copies. Blizzard has not updated Overwatch's player figures in years, so the comparison relies on older numbers rather than current audience data.

NetEase also said Marvel Rivals reached a peak of 644,000 concurrent players on Steam and still attracts more than 300,000 daily players. That suggests the game's audience remains large even after its launch spike.

Marvel Rivals has clearly found a huge audience, but can it ever close the gap with Overwatch's long-standing benchmark?