{"id":977481,"date":"2024-12-12T13:01:31","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T19:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/?p=977481"},"modified":"2024-12-12T13:01:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T19:01:39","slug":"former-blizzard-head-has-accused-marvel-rivals-of-copying-overwatch-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/former-blizzard-head-has-accused-marvel-rivals-of-copying-overwatch-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Blizzard head has accused Marvel Rivals of copying Overwatch 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Blizzard head Mike Ybarra has lent his voice to the argument that Marvel Rivals<\/em> is little more than a copy of Overwatch 2<\/em>. The two games are hero shooters, feature a large base of playable characters, and share some gameplay similarities.<\/p>

But Ybarra pointed to Marvel\u2019s<\/em> Black Widow and her similarities to Overwatch 2\u2019s<\/em> Widowmaker. Gamers have been quick to point out that Black Widow first featured in Marvel comics more than 50 years ago, while even her appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe predates the original Overwatch\u2019s<\/em> launch by more than five years. Other critics have also likened aspects of the latest Marvel title with that of Blizzard\u2019s hero shooter.<\/p>

The Overwatch success story<\/h2><\/iframe>

The original Overwatch<\/em>, from Blizzard Entertainment, launched in 2016 as a hero shooter. Hero shooters are different from standard shooters because the player characters have discernably different gameplay styles and special moves.  <\/p>

In 2022, Blizzard said that more than 50 million people had played the original title, so it was hardly surprising when they launched the sequel, Overwatch 2<\/em>, in 2023. Whereas the original title was a full-priced game on launch, Overwatch 2<\/em> launched as a free-to-play title. Within the first 10 days of the game\u2019s launch, more than 25 million people had played the sequel, and by June of this year, its total lifetime player count had surpassed 100 million.<\/p>

The Marvel Rivals rivalry<\/h2>

Marvel Rivals<\/em>, from game studio NetEase, launched at the beginning of December<\/a> and has been billed as a superhero shooter. Players can choose from a large roster of Marvel characters, including the likes of Iron Man and Wolverine. The 33 playable characters, which include heroes and villains, also feature some lesser-known names like Luna Snow and Peni Parker.<\/p>

The one character that seems to have caught Blizzard\u2019s attention, though, is that of Black Widow. Black Widow first appeared in Tales of Suspense #52<\/em>, a Marvel comic published back in 1964, and her on-screen debut came in Iron Man 2<\/em>, which aired in 2010. Despite this, the former Blizzard CEO took aim at the Black Widow character, likening her to Overwatch\u2019s<\/em> Widowmaker, in a now-deleted Tweet.<\/p>

Former Blizzard President Mike Ybarra calls Marvel Rivals "An Overwatch Clone" in a now Community Noted and Deleted tweet.

We cooked his ass \ud83d\ude0b pic.twitter.com\/IRMxF3tQCE<\/a><\/p>— Marvel Rivals Intel (@RivalsAssembled) December 6, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>