For better or worse, Marvel Rivals and Overwatch 2 are in exactly the same boat right now.

Ahead of December 2025, marvel rivals and overwatch 2 Fans were quick to notice the big similarities between the hero shooters. Both were releasing new heroes, and said the hero would be the 45th option in both games. Since then, Rogue and Vendetta have been released. marvel rivals and overwatch 2 The general interpretation of each of the two characters is similar. Overall, both heroes have good skills and are fun to use in the right hands, but they require too much skill to use well, so Instagram Lock broke down pretty quickly. But the similarities between the two rivals don't end there, they share both good and bad points.

The Good: Marvel Rivals and Overwatch 2 are welcoming the holidays in style.

On the positive side of the spectrum, there are holiday events for both games. As shown below, marvel rivals and overwatch 2 There is a lot to write home about this year:

overwatch 2	marvel rivals
Several Winter Brawls are returning, including new maps for Mei's Snowball Offensive and Prop Hunt variants Mischief and Magic.	The Jeff-themed Winter Splash mode returns, this time with three variations of The Land Shark, boasting unique abilities such as beyblade-like water splashes and snowballs that can trap opposing players.
You can obtain two color changes for Junkrat and Cassidy.	Two obtainable color changes for Jeff the Land Shark.
Tracer, Torbjörn, and Junkrat are the three reward paths for completing Cookie Challenges, offering Battle Pass tier skips, cosmetic items, and loot boxes in exchange for cookies.	A special hand-crafted Jeff-themed map for the Winter limited-time mode.
There are several paid skins for heroes such as Ashe, Wuyang, Mauga, and Juno.	Holiday-themed paid skins for Daredevil, Star-Lord, and Peni Parker. The Premium Pass also includes Christmas-themed skins for Squirrel Girl and the Winter Soldier.

Overall, these events check all the boxes that are expected. Of course, there are issues players may have with the obtainable skins for color changes in both titles, but realistically the event does far more things right than wrong. The festive version of Mischief and Magic and the in-depth version of Winter Splash are perfect casual fun this season, and some of the paid skins are truly amazing, like Ashe's appearance in the long-awaited holiday menu art or Peni's snowman-themed robot. No matter which hero shooter game players choose to play this year (or whether they split their time between both), they're sure to get in the holiday spirit.

The Bad: The latest balance passes for Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals miss the mark.

But it's not all sunshine, rainbows and candy canes at the moment, so there's room for criticism. Both hero shooters have released disappointing balance passes. for example, overwatch 2D.Va has been unstoppable despite being overly strong for quite some time. Meanwhile, characters like Reinhardt and Junker Queen received questionable nerfs as a result of Stadium, leaving players wishing Zarya had been hit instead. Freja remains weaker than the original, and the Mercy main continues to wait for a rework that will never come.

One of the few positive changes in this patch is that Juno can now deal critical damage, making her even more effective. However, there are some things that are even more disappointing, such as Reinhardt's Earthshatter charging slower or D.Va remaining the same.

while marvel rivals If the balance pass was just right, we could have achieved a big victory, but realistically, the situation is not very good. overwatch 2Major competition in December this year. The triple support meta, which many players hate, can see great success again thanks to Ultron's buff that allows him to get a second drone. That means a lot of fighting going on for a long time. While Invisible Woman is still too strong even after receiving a number of buffs that are deemed unnecessary, Gambit feels like a must-pick character because she can do so many things. And then there's Daredevil, who remains virtually unchanged, having received an extra 25 health from his team composition in a long-requested nerf.

While it's important to realize that this is yet another balance patch that will never allow both games to be fun again, it's a bit of a shame that an excellent winter event was hampered by some weak mechanical changes (or lack thereof). For marvel rivals Developer NetEase is less reactionary and does not change its heroes. Because it would be helpful to have the loudest voices in the community complaining. On the other hand, nerfs to heroes like Zarya aren't exactly new requests, so Blizzard could benefit more from listening to its fanbase. If players are feeling festive and spending most of their time in the LTM, the good will outweigh the bad, but the core experience of these two hero shooters needs some major tweaks.