Launched with great fanfare 5 years ago, the Overwatch League has struggled to find its long-term audience, due in part to the rather chaotic management of the transition between Overwatch 1 and 2. It is therefore not not surprising to read in the new quarterly report of the group (source in English) Activision Blizzard, that the company wants to find a solution to relaunch its project and certainly reduce operating costs. This is why it is very likely that the number of franchises will be drastically reduced for next year, in a context that seems very complicated for the future of the league.
A difficult negotiation with the teams
Concretely, the management body of the Overwatch League (controlled by Activision-Blizzard) offers two solutions for the different franchises: renegotiate the terms of the current agreement or accept a check for 6 million dollars to leave the league.
The first solution therefore most certainly concerns (the content of the proposal is not known) significant changes to the format of the league and potentially to the redistribution of income.
The second, therefore, ends the partnership between the owner of the franchise and the Overwatch League for a sum of 6 million dollars, or about a third of the initial amount to enter the OWL in 2018. If all the teams should opt for this option, the immediate cost for the group would be 114 million dollars according to the financial document.
A difficult choice to make for some owners who have seen the potential of the league shrink over the years, particularly following a fairly devastating combo between the health situation, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the switch to Overwatch 2. indeed, if at the beginning, the league seemed to be able to offer an alternative to other eSport competitions, the growth quickly reduced after 2020. The health crisis having completely undermined the initial concept of offering regional franchises, since the meetings were no longer done in public. In addition, the abandonment of Overwatch 1 in favor of the development of the second installment broke the dynamics of the game, leaving a large number of players behind. Finally, the general ecosystem of eSports has suffered a lot in recent years, further reducing the value of franchises or organizations in the sector.
However, it is considered that some will take the check more easily than others, starting with the Chinese teams. Without an agreement in China since the end of 2022, Activision Blizzard games are no longer directly accessible in the territory, drastically limiting the interest of franchises there.
Towards the end of the Overwatch League?
This is surely the title that many detractors will use in view of the latest announcements, but on the side of Blizzard we want to remain confident. So, Sean Miller, head of the Overwatch League said he is still committed to providing a competitive environment for 2024 and beyond.
“We are working to deliver an invigorated international scene that puts players and fans first”
Said Sean Miller, head of the OWL (source The Verge)
It therefore remains to be seen how the group will be able to revive interest around the Overwatch League and the competitive scene of OW2 in this rather difficult context. What is certain is that the format of previous years seems to have been abandoned, in favor of a more traditional model, similar to the Apex (former Korean league of Overwatch) for example. In the meantime, the main actors of the OWL are the first affected by this situation, with in particular the risk of layoffs on the side of Activision Blizzard.