Overwatch League as we know it is officially dead
On Monday, the Overwatch League Twitter account posted a statement announcing that the esports ecosystem for Blizzard’s hero shooter that has existed since 2017 is officially no more. The statement claims a new system is on the way, but there aren’t any more details about what plans are in the works yet.
“With the completion of the 2023 Overwatch League season, we will be focusing on building our vision of a revitalized esports program,” the statement reads. “We’re eager to share more with you as details are finalized.”
The writing has been on the wall for something like this to happen to OWL for a while now. When Activision Blizzard released its Q2 earnings report in July, the company announced that it would be offering a new operating agreement to franchised teams at the end of the 2023 season. If the franchised teams decided to not take the agreement, they would be entitled to a $6 million termination fee. Considering OWL’s declining viewership numbers, it seemed fairly obvious that many teams would be tempted by this buyout, effectively spelling the death of the league through mass exodus.
Teams were already leaving the league before this buyout offer came through, though. Chinese franchise the Chengdu Hunters officially left OWL in June after not fielding a roster for over half of the 2023 season after Activision Blizzard titles became temporarily unplayable in China due to issues getting a new distributor in this region. The org had an offer to re-enter the league despite this, but ultimately declined, becoming the first notable franchise team to say farewell to OWL. Now the rest have followed suit, leaving a rather large question mark when it comes to what’s next for Overwatch esports.
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