The ambitious Overwatch League, the most expensive esports bet ever floated, is seemingly no more, with Blizzard confirming that it will take competitive Overwatch "in a new direction." An OWL spokesperson released a statement to GGRecon, which announced the news in no uncertain terms:
"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."
The future of OWL has been in dispute for some time now. In July, Activision Blizzard's second-quarter financial results, came with some interesting caveats. One included a provision that if the teams playing in the OWL opted not to sign onto an updated agreement, they would be eligible for a $6 million cash payout.
Remember that buying into the Overwatch League cost the 12 founding teams $20 million each, with later teams paying between $35 and $60 million to participate. Activision Blizzard had previously noted that Overwatch League earnings compromised less than one per cent of the company's total net revenue.
Perhaps this shouldn't come as such a surprise, as nothing lasts forever. Launching six years ago, OWL had the benefit of Overwatch being one of the most popular games on the planet. Fast forward to today, and Overwatch 2 seems to lurch from update to update, with an increasingly shrinking pool of diehard fans.
What do you think of the apparent end of the Overwatch League? Do you follow the esports scene, and do you think something else will emerge to take its place? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source ggrecon.com, via ign.com]
Comments 7
apparently Microsoft have to foot the bill of $120 million for dissolution of the league
ouch
pve is dead owl is dead, ironically TWO things that KILLED overwatch 1, aint that a *****. go figure
(i had to censor the female dog word, pushsquare doesnt have it censored im shocked hahaha)
They also killed the Quake pro league (yes there was one). MS knows those games are dead. Wouldn't be surprised if Halo follows next year. Only cod makes enough money to keep the giant ad that an esports scene can be.
In a world where esports are slowly dying thanks to over ambition the FGC (and EVO sorry not sorry lol) is stronger than ever.
Blizzard sold team slots to esports orgs and just completely ***** it. I don't know how you ***** one of the best multiplayer games ever made, but they managed
I am still yet to try this game out. I am sure not going to, because I don't find it appealing. But honest question, do you ever see people talk about it outside of once in a full moon article dropped on a gaming sites, most often surrounded by controverse?
@nomither6 as far as I am aware that's Overwatch 1 with slight revamp to the mechanics in game.
@Bamila no , they deleted ow1 and replaced it with something inferior , it may look the same on the surface but they changed a lot of things including the way characters play
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