What happened with “clash-verge”? It’s archived and the last commit nuked the repository.

If you are able to (and allowed), install an AdBlocker (e.g. uBlock Origin) to reduce the friction for such cases. In my experience these ads are rarely click-worthy.

Not sure where you get that information from

Probably from playing it themself. Nowhere in the text you linked is stated that you need the client. Only a valid account and internet.

So no, Overwatch 2 on Steam doesn’t require a secondary launcher. Source: me, I play it on Steam.