- Overwatch 2’s newly-launched closed beta has helped the franchise shatter its viewership record
- The game has hit 1.4 million people on Twitch – three times more than the previous record
- The closed beta will be around for three weeks, providing fans with more content to look forward to
Overwatch 2’s closed beta has helped the franchise surpass 1.4 million concurrent viewers, beating the previous Twitch record.
Overwatch 2 Surpassed 1.4 Peak Viewers
Overwatch 2 continues to break records. The closed beta of the second addition to Blizzard’s beloved first-person franchise surpassed the peak Twitch viewership of the game’s first iteration in just two hours. Little did fans know this was only the beginning.
The numbers continued to soar and eventually surpassed 1 million concurrent viewers – something unprecedented in the entire Overwatch history. According to Twitch Tracker, the audience size peaked at 1,459,208 viewers – a number trice the size of Overwatch’s previous record.
Some of the most prominent streamers contributed much to the aforementioned number with many having audiences of more than 50,000 fans. xQc led the way with 150,000 viewers, while Seagull, an ex-Overwatch esports athlete, had 110,000 people follow his experience with the new title.
Fans Are Hyped About the New Title
The huge influx of fans seeking to watch streams is attributed to two things – hype and Twitch drops.
First of all, the arrival of the new game was highly anticipated by Overwatch enthusiasts. The title is expected to revitalize both casual and competitive Overwatch by bringing a new hero, new mechanics, improved gameplay and a new esports format. Early testers who had tried out the game’s alpha stages reported that Overwatch 2 makes everything better. Testers admitted that some fans are not going to like the new 5v5 format but added that it works just fine and refreshes the competitive scene.
Second, Blizzard wanted to cater to its fans and promised to give away Overwatch 2 closed beta invites as Twitch drops. This move not only allowed numerous fans to get to try out the new game but also helped to nurture countless Twitch channels and utterly shatter previous viewership records. As more people are now able to get into Overwatch 2, it is likely that interest in the game will grow.
Overwatch 2’s closed beta stage will continue until May 17 so fans have almost three weeks of content ahead of themselves.
