“We are transitioning from the Overwatch League and evolving competitive Overwatch in a new direction. We are grateful to everyone who made OWL possible and remain focused on building our vision of a revitalized esports program," Activision Blizzard told GGRecon, who notes that several teams have already dropped out of the league. "We are excited to share details with you all in the near future."
As mentioned by GamesIndustry.biz, an Activision Blizzard SEC filing earlier this year revealed the publisher's doubts about the longevity of Overwatch and Call of Duty leagues. "Our collaborative arrangements for our professional esports leagues [...] continue to face headwinds which are negatively impacting the operations and, potentially, the longevity of the leagues under the current business model," the filing said. "We continue to work to address these challenges, which could result in significant costs, and such efforts may prove unsuccessful."
The Jacob Wolf Report says that talks are being held with ESL FACEIT Group, a Saudi Arabian state-owned company, to run the 2024 Overwatch season.
For fans of the Overwatch League, this closure probably doesn't come as much of a surprise. Activision Blizzard had lofty ambitions for the eSports league when it first arrived in 2017 for the original Overwatch, which was supposed to see city-based teams build their own stadiums and compete in home-and-away-style competitions similar to other mainstream sports.
Unfortunately, it's reported that franchise starting fees for teams were set at $20 million (thanks, PC Gamer), and with the global pandemic that came in the following years, the in-person spectator plans Activision Blizzard initially had were quashed. Although the league itself is going away, it looks like there is still some hope for players looking to continue competing in Overwatch eSports competitions, but we'll need to wait to see what the company is cooking up.
It's been a tumultuous year for Overwatch 2, which has seen a decline in its player count. Activision Blizzard lost the trust of a large chunk of the game's community after it announced that the Overwatch 2 PvE mode had been canceled, which was then followed by the release of story missions priced at $15.
