The Overwatch League is officially dead: Activision Blizzard is 'transitioning' away from its groundbreaking esports league as teams reportedly vote to withdraw
Earlier this year, Activision Blizzard expressed doubt about the long-term future of the Overwatch League, and said its efforts to maintain the city-based pro esports league "may prove unsuccessful." That has turned out to be the case, as Activision confirmed today that the Overwatch League as we know it is finished.
Announced in 2016, the Overwatch League was a groundbreaking idea modelled after conventional pro sports leagues: City-based teams would compete in seasonal home-and-away matches, eventually leading into a playoff series and world championship. But high startup costs—initial base franchise fees were reportedly $20 million—contributed to a slow start, and just a couple years after it went live the league was battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, which quashed its live-spectator ambitions.
The situation took a turn for the worse in 2021 following allegations of widespread discrimination and sexual misconduct at Activision Blizzard, which led multiple major sponsors to end their support for the league. The loss of a publishing partner in China—a situation that still hasn't been rectified—only added to the woes.
Activision acknowledged in a May filing with the SEC that it faced «headwinds which are negatively impacting the operations and, potentially, the longevity» of the Overwatch League, and that efforts to address them «could result in significant costs and… may prove unsuccessful.» A month later, the company said in a quarterly financial report that at the end of the current Overwatch League season, teams would vote on an amended operating agreement—and that if they did not vote to continue operating under the new terms, each team would receive a «termination fee» of $6 million, and that would be the end of
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