Overwatch League at risk of collapse as teams vote on $114 million exit payment
In May, Activision Blizzard warned that the Overwatch League is not in a good place. The city-based esports league is facing «headwinds,» as the publisher put it, that are taking a toll on both its current operations and its long-term future. It also acknowledged that efforts to address those challenges «may prove unsuccessful,» although Overwatch League head Sean Miller said the company remains «committed to Overwatch esports,» and that the league is «not going away anytime soon.»
The future of the Overwatch League grew even murkier with the release of Activision's most recent quarterly financial results, which indicates that the league could be forced to make significant changes to its structure at the end of the current season, and might even shut down entirely.
«During the second quarter, we amended certain terms of our collaborative arrangements with team entities participating in the Overwatch League,» the report says. «According to the amended terms, following the conclusion of the current Overwatch League season, the teams will vote on an updated operating agreement. If the teams do not vote to continue under an updated operating agreement, a termination fee of $6 million will be payable to each participating team entity (total fee of approximately $114 million).»
Despite a torrent of money being poured into it, the Overwatch League has never lived up to its initial promise of a city-based esports league. The planned move to playing home-and-away games in the style of pro sports leagues was battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, major sponsors have lost interest, and there's still no Overwatch publisher in China—a big problem given that four of the league's teams are based in that country. Meanwhile, the league is
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