It’s over!
Yes, it’s true. Blizard has decided, after 6 years, to end their official Overwatch League. While competitive Overwatch (2) will continue, you will no longer be blitzed with Overwatch League crap every time you open the game. At least, if I were still playing the game, I’d hope so.
An Activision Blizzard spokesperson speaking to IGN said the following:
We are transitioning from the Overwatch League and evolving competitive Overwatch in a new direction. We are grateful to everyone who made OWL possible and remain focused on building our vision of a revitalized esports program. We are excited to share details with you all in the near future.
Earlier in the year there were reports of a vote that would determine the fate of the League at the end of its current season. The teams were given the option to sign an updated operate agreement, with a provision of $6 million for any teams that decided not to continue on. Considering the fact that the Overwatch League makes less than 1% of the company’s net revenue, it’s not quite so hard to see why they’d let this go. That said, according to Overwatch League commissioner Sean Miller, Blizzard remains “committed to a competitive ecosystem in 2024 and beyond,” which really sounds like a “you do it,” sort of thing, but who knows?
As for the team owners? Well, it’s likely some number opted for that $6 milly payout. Which is probably the case for the owner of the Toronto Defiant, who said goodbye with a piece of AI generated art. Which people noticed just had a pile of penises in the bottom left.
How appropriate.
Given the number of controversies faced by the company, it’s not much of a surprise that the initially high viewership the League got slowly waned over time. It’s not hard to imagine that, as sponsorships dwindled, many of these teams started operating in the red (gamer RGB ain’t cheap, yo). So, over the coming days, it won’t be much of a surprise to see more of these teams make a public announcement of their various exits. The question will be, what remains?
Source: IGN
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