Overwatch's second weekend of Conquest 'had a higher daily player count' than its opening weekend as Blizzard's FPS gains momentum

Overwatch’s second weekend of Conquest ‘had a higher daily player count’ than its opening weekend as Blizzard’s FPS gains momentum | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these FPS Overwatch tier list for Season 1 Conquest RPG Blizzard says ‘There’s actually millions of people that still play Diablo 3’ and those players have the right idea Third Person Shooter Helldivers 2’s siege of Cyberstan is the greatest galactic campaign the game has seen so far FPS The best FPS games on PC FPS After breaking Winston’s heart last week, Overwatch players have abandoned Talon in this week’s vote, and it’s all down to the cat FPS We’re getting even more free lootboxes and a double XP weekend in Overwatch just for playing the game Final Fantasy Final Fantasy 14’s latest unofficial census is a surprising uptick, and shows I’m not the only one getting sucked back into the MMO again FPS When Overwatch said it was returning to the story, I did not expect its most genius decision: Reworking maps for the fun of it FPS How to unlock Crimson Wolf in Overwatch FPS Highguard didn’t flop FPS I thought Overwatch’s new Arcade mode was a glitch, but it’s actually a ridiculous cat-stuffed free-for-all where spamming ‘meow’ is mandatory FPS After a glitch botched Overwatch’s first big post-reboot event, it’s sending out the rewards—including 14 lootboxes—out to players anyway World of Warcraft World of Warcraft: Midnight’s new roadmap includes prop hunt, mega-dungeon sized delves, and a new experimental game mode from the folks who brought you Remix and Plunderstorm FPS Highguard review MOBA Deadlock’s new Street Brawl mode is like a better version of the infamous MOBA ‘All Random, All Mid,’ but I think it could stand to be even more chaotic PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Arc RaidersBest PC gearFalloutGame Quizzes Games FPS Overwatch Overwatch’s second weekend of Conquest ‘had a higher daily player count’ than its opening weekend as Blizzard’s FPS gains momentum News By Elie Gould published 26 February 2026 The only way is up. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Blizzard) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Signup + Every Thursday GTA 6 O’clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O’clock experts. Signup + Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what’s on the horizon. Signup + Every Thursday The Setup Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more. Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter The first weekend of Overwatch’s overhaul, now known as Overwatch Season 1: Conquest, was by and large a success. Not only did it introduce five new characters, a nice UI change, and signify a shift in how content will be released going forward, but it also dropped the ‘2’. And all of this was rewarded with some of the best player counts the game has seen since launch.On Steam, Overwatch reached an all-time player count peak, clocking in over 165,000 players over the release weekend and creeping past both Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty’s concurrent player count. Since then, it’s managed to keep a healthy number, which has floated between that high point and 100,000 players. (Image credit: Blizzard)But it doesn’t stop there. Most Overwatch players actually use Battle.net to play, a Blizzard-owned platform that doesn’t publicly post player numbers. It meant that we can’t say for sure just how successful the overhaul has been, but Blizzard has revealed that the players just keep coming back. Related articles Overwatch just hit its all-time player count peak on Steam, clocking in over 165,000 players, more than two years after it first released on the platform Overwatch creeps past Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty’s concurrent players on Steam, hitting its biggest peak in years Overwatch 2 drops the 2 and goes back to being Overwatch as Blizzard launches its biggest update ever next week: ‘We want to gain players’ confidence, we want them to have trust in the game’ “Overwatch Season 1: Conquest had a higher daily player count in its second weekend vs. launch weekend,” Overwatch says in an official social media post. “The first time that has happened since Overwatch 2 launched in 2022. Thank you to everyone who’s been jumping into Season 1: Conquest.”Week 2 is even bigger than week 1?!? 🤯THANK YOU to everyone who’s been jumping into Season 1: Conquest! What’s been your favorite part so far? pic.twitter.com/mjDPgLmlxcFebruary 24, 2026It’s hardly surprising. This new era of Overwatch has a lot to offer. Stadium was introduced at the beginning of last year, and offers a different experience to the bog-standard Overwatch game