Overwatch Sets New Peak Concurrent Player Record on Steam As the Reign of Talon Begins

Blizzard's hero shooter more than doubled its previous record on the platform, hitting nearly 166,000 peak concurrent players.

Posted By | On 11th, Feb. 2026

Overwatch - Reign of Talon

Five new heroes, an overhaul to its seasonal structure, massive UI changes, and dropping the “2” – all of this and potentially more contributed to Overwatch reaching new highs in its Steam player counts. It recently peaked at 165,651 concurrent players, more than double its previous peak of 75,608, which is also when it debuted on the platform.

Granted, its overall rating is still “Mostly Negative,” but recent reviews have been trending more towards “Mixed,” so…progress? Regardless, enthusiasm for the new heroes is pretty strong with Jetpack Cat, Domina and Emre in particular emerging as favorites. Mizuki and Anran aren’t quite there, though it may be due to the previous three being over-tuned.

The other big new feature with Reign of Talon: Season 1 is the addition of Conquest. Following the latest cinematic short, which sees Vendetta taking over as the leader of Talon, players can effectively choose sides in the new conflict. The good news is that you won’t have to stick with either side, switching as necessary and netting rewards as a double agent.

Of course, there’s also a new Battle Pass, including a new Mythic Mercy skin and Mythic Weapon skin for Juno. A limited-time collaboration with Hello Kitty and Friends is also live, offering even more cosmetics to spend on.

Overwatch is available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch, with a Nintendo Switch 2 version due this Spring.


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