We all knew it would be big, but im not sure that anyone could have predicted that almost 2/3 of the people who played in the free beta would end up paying for the game. Seven million players have played overwatch during this its first week of existence. To put that in perspective the last COD sold a total of 5 million copies, and with in a few weeks its player population had dropped to less than one million.
Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime said “Over the months and weeks leading up to release we saw a lot of love and support for Overwatch—from Blizzard gamers, FPS fans, and people who’d never picked up a game like this before—and we’re very grateful for everyone’s incredible passion and enthusiasm, We poured a lot of effort into creating a game—and a new universe—that anyone could enjoy. We’re ecstatic to have had such a successful launch, and we’re looking forward to all of the fun, competition, and new content still to come.”
The total number of hours played of the game is already over 100 million as of this writing. I my self have sunk about 40 hours in to the game this week, it has been one of the very few games recently that I have been willing to play on my own. its unique feel and solid shooter mechanics just keep people coming back. I personally also can not wait for competitive mode when I hope find a team to play with in a semi-competitive manner!