Overwatch League a mess, teams reportedly bargain with Activision for better revenue
The Overwatch League is one of the most prominent leagues in the esports circuit today. Comprising some of the best players and teams in the game, the league has been active for a while now, giving the community nail-biting matches each season.
However, as per reports, the league has suffered in revenue and plans to take legal steps to help combat its losses over the years.
According to a Jacob Wolf report, multiple Overwatch League teams have come together and retained a British law firm, known as Sheridans, to help them bargain with Activision in light of the high losses incurred by the teams.
Sheridans is a law firm focused on media and technology and possesses a considerable amount of experience when dealing with legal issues within the esports community. Talks have reportedly just begun, but there is no word from Activision about the same. There's no word on a lawsuit either for now, although that could happen sometime in the future.
The teams have approached the law firm to help bargain on their behalf, as Activision has repeatedly missed out on their revenue promises over the past few seasons. Not only that, the league has suffered from poor viewership, and operating costs have increased as well.
As mentioned in the report by Jacob Wolf, some teams have spent around $16 million over a period of six years. These teams are currently looking for some relief from Activision Blizzard to help them sustain themselves. While multiple esports tournaments follow the franchise format, with Valorant recently joining the fray, the cost of operating the Overwatch League isn't as high as others.
However, the franchise buy-in for Overwatch League was the highest in Season 1, with partnered teams having to pay a whopping $20 million
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