"Overwatch" was sold to public just May of this year as one of Blizzard's new titles. While it had been in creation for almost ten years, the game did not fall short to achieving the much desired 'Game of the Year' award.
"Overwatch" being the Game of the Year for 2016 is not really that big of a surprise. Not only being a game under a much beloved gaming company (Blizzard) but the game itself has a lot of gimmicks that appeal to the audience. Now that doesn't mean Overwatch doesn't have its share of cons, the game reached 7 million players on its first week. The days wherein the game was played for free might have been a factor for that number. Nonetheless, Overwatch has provided a great shift from the constant trend of the DoTA-like MOBA games.
The quick addition of the competitive play may have also been a bonus to tip the scales for "Overwatch" to gain the Game of the Year award. It's no surprised to find competitive or ranked modes in high ranking games. Many individuals in the gaming community are quite competitive and thus this mode adds a little flavor to the game. With Blizzard's goal to put "Overwatch" in a great eSports standing, the addition of the game mode does bring about a good amount of support for the game.
In fact, Blizzard even hosted a championship for various eSports teams for "Overwatch" during this year's Blizzcon. This shows just how deserving "Overwatch" is for the Game of the Year title.
Even though the game has little content to work with, Blizzard is just beginning. The addition of Sombra and the new map, Antartica, for the arcade mode have surely made "Overwatch" deviate from merely securing the point and escorting the payload. Hopefully there'll be more modes to play into since this game has got the 'Game of the Year' award plastered on itself for 2016.