Overwatch League | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Fri, 10 Nov 2023 12:55:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Overwatch League | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 The Overwatch League is no more, competitive Overwatch will go in ‘new direction’ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/the-overwatch-league-is-no-more-competitive-overwatch-will-go-in-new-direction/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/the-overwatch-league-is-no-more-competitive-overwatch-will-go-in-new-direction/#respond Thu, 09 Nov 2023 17:07:26 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=636897 Activision Blizzard let go of most of its Overwatch League staff earlier this year, marking a turning point in the company's future esports plans. A few weeks after the company's merger with Microsoft, it has been confirmed that the Overwatch League is shutting down.  The Overwatch League was dreamt up around the time of the …

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Activision Blizzard let go of most of its Overwatch League staff earlier this year, marking a turning point in the company's future esports plans. A few weeks after the company's merger with Microsoft, it has been confirmed that the Overwatch League is shutting down. 

The Overwatch League was dreamt up around the time of the game's release. Blizzard hoped to turn professional Overwatch matches into a widely-viewed event, with franchised teams, home-team arenas and a big yearly playoffs tournament following a regular season to establish seeding. Teams had to pay tens of millions of dollars to get a spot in the league, but it quickly started to become clear that achieving profitability would be no easy feat.

The pandemic certainly had an impact, as the league's in-person, live-audience matches could no longer take place. In a statement sent to PCGamer, Activision Blizzard confirmed that it is now “transitioning” to take competitive Overwatch “in a new direction”.

Overwatch will likely continue to be an esports-focused game but moving forward, it may be more community-focused.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The Overwatch League was an ambitious idea but it didn't pan out. Pivoting seems like the right move at this point after years of decline. 

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MSI’s gaming monitors will be featured heavily throughout BlizzCon https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/msis-gaming-monitors-will-be-featured-heavily-throughout-blizzcon/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/msis-gaming-monitors-will-be-featured-heavily-throughout-blizzcon/#respond Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:57:01 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=635787 BlizzCon is just a few days away now and if you happen to be in attendance, you'll find MSI monitors throughout the convention for showcasing the latest Blizzard game updates. MSI is the official monitor partner for BlizzCon, sending 1,500 monitors to be used throughout the Anaheim Convention Center during the event. Eventgoers will be …

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BlizzCon is just a few days away now and if you happen to be in attendance, you'll find MSI monitors throughout the convention for showcasing the latest Blizzard game updates.

MSI is the official monitor partner for BlizzCon, sending 1,500 monitors to be used throughout the Anaheim Convention Center during the event. Eventgoers will be able to play Blizzard's titles with other attendees using a couple of MSI's best displays.


Image credit: MSI Gaming

The first display being used at BlizzCon is MSI's G253PF, offering a Rapid IPS panel with a 360Hz refresh rate. Needless to say, this is the monitor Overwatch 2 teams will be using during the Overwatch World Cup Finals, which takes place at BlizzCon. The second monitor that regular attendees are more likely to see up close is the MSI Optix G273, a 1080p/165Hz monitor also aimed at esports/competitive gaming. These will be found at every hall throughout the convention.

At the MSI booth in the Overwatch 2 Hall, you'll also get to see MSI's full line-up of gaming monitors, from 4K and Ultrawide to QHD and QD-OLED monitors.

BlizzCon takes place from November 3rd to November 4th. The Overwatch Finals will be viewable via livestreams, as will all the major keynotes with game updates and new announcements.

KitGuru Says: Will you be watching the BlizzCon news next week or even attending the event in person?

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Overwatch 2 to debut with new season of Overwatch League https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/overwatch-2-to-debut-with-new-season-of-overwatch-league/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/overwatch-2-to-debut-with-new-season-of-overwatch-league/#respond Wed, 16 Feb 2022 16:00:27 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=550543 At this point, Activision Blizzard has confirmed that Overwatch 2 won't be launching this year. That might not be entirely true, as the game will be debuting amongst the esports player scene as part of the next season of Overwatch League.  Today in a community update, organisers behind the Overwatch League confirmed that the next …

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At this point, Activision Blizzard has confirmed that Overwatch 2 won't be launching this year. That might not be entirely true, as the game will be debuting amongst the esports player scene as part of the next season of Overwatch League. 

Today in a community update, organisers behind the Overwatch League confirmed that the next season of professional play will kick off in May. Unlike past seasons, this season will see a shift away from 6-person teams to 5-person teams, so each squad loses a tank player. Additionally, this season the Assault game mode will be replaced by Push, which is essentially the same as Payload in original Overwatch.

This upcoming season will also feature 24 regular season games, followed by a playoff tournament, an increase from the 16 games played last season. The hope is that the league will now be able to get back to a normal schedule, after the pandemic derailed previous seasons and put an end to many live, in-person matches from being played.

While the community update doesn't explicitly mention Overwatch 2, the new game mode and squad-size confirms that the season will be played on an early build of Overwatch 2. At this point, the sequel should arrive for all players in 2023.

KitGuru Says: Using an early build for a game that is still in on-going development can be risky, as bugs could harm the integrity of the competition. Still, it will be interesting to see an early look at Overwatch 2 and hopefully by the end of this year, we'll finally have a clear picture as to when the game might release. 

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Overwatch League to begin in April on ‘early build’ of Overwatch 2 https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/overwatch-league-to-begin-in-april-on-early-build-of-overwatch-2/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/overwatch-league-to-begin-in-april-on-early-build-of-overwatch-2/#respond Sun, 05 Sep 2021 10:55:55 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=530405 Blizzard first announced Overwatch 2 in 2019, although since then, there has been no confirmation on when the game will actually release. Earlier this week, reports indicated that the game will launch in the first half of 2022 and now, new statements from Overwatch League executives seem to confirm that. Esports organisations have been just …

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Blizzard first announced Overwatch 2 in 2019, although since then, there has been no confirmation on when the game will actually release. Earlier this week, reports indicated that the game will launch in the first half of 2022 and now, new statements from Overwatch League executives seem to confirm that.

Esports organisations have been just as curious as everyone else about Overwatch 2, as Overwatch League teams will need to switch over to the new game for future tournaments. To address this, Overwatch League VP, Jon Spector, tweeted confirmation that the next Overwatch League season is planned to begin in April 2022, he also confirmed that the new season will be played on “an early build of Overwatch 2”.

This confirms earlier reports from this week, which indicated that Activision Blizzard is pushing to get Overwatch 2 out in the first half of 2022, more specifically, Q2, which spans April to the end of June.

With the next Overwatch League season set to kick off on an early build of Overwatch 2 in April 2022, that should also mean a full release of the game in 2022, possibly in May or June, although there is always the possibility of delays. According to Spector, official announcements will be coming “closer to April”, so we should hear more early next year.

KitGuru Says: Starting off an esports season with an early, pre-release version of Overwatch 2 sounds risky, as bugs and balance issues could harm the integrity of the competition. 

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Overwatch 2 reportedly targeting Q2 2022 release date https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/overwatch-2-reportedly-targeting-q2-2022-release-date/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/overwatch-2-reportedly-targeting-q2-2022-release-date/#respond Wed, 01 Sep 2021 15:40:00 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=530045 It has been a couple of years since Blizzard first announced Overwatch 2, but since then, there has been no word on when the game will actually release. According to reports this week, executives are pushing for work on the game to be wrapped up, with plans to launch in the first half of 2022.  …

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It has been a couple of years since Blizzard first announced Overwatch 2, but since then, there has been no word on when the game will actually release. According to reports this week, executives are pushing for work on the game to be wrapped up, with plans to launch in the first half of 2022. 

According to sources speaking with Dexerto, Activision Blizzard expects to release Overwatch 2 in Q2 2022, which would put the release date anywhere between April 2022 and June 2022.

Apparently, those working on the game have been told to lock-in the content and feature set so that they can focus on squashing bugs and polishing the game up to meet that release window. The publisher wants the game out “before the summer of 2022”.

Previously, there were reports that Overwatch 2 might not ship until 2023, but it appears that since then, “getting the game out as soon as possible” has become a high priority. Once Overwatch 2 launches, this will also serve as a restart for the Overwatch League, although the game's esports future is somewhat uncertain right now, with franchise owners becoming more concerned with revenue, loss of sponsorships due to recent lawsuits and a lack of growth in viewership.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Blizzard hasn't announced a release date for Overwatch 2 yet, but if this proves true, then we may well get confirmation during the next Blizzcon. 

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Activision Blizzard downsizing esports and live events division https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/activision-blizzard-downsizing-esports-and-live-events-division/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/activision-blizzard-downsizing-esports-and-live-events-division/#respond Wed, 17 Mar 2021 12:26:19 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=508115 Back in 2019, Activision Blizzard underwent a round of lay-offs, losing hundreds of staff members. This year, the company has another round of job cuts on the way, this time focusing on the esports division, which has suffered due to the lack of live events over the course of the pandemic. Sports Business Journal and …

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Back in 2019, Activision Blizzard underwent a round of lay-offs, losing hundreds of staff members. This year, the company has another round of job cuts on the way, this time focusing on the esports division, which has suffered due to the lack of live events over the course of the pandemic.

Sports Business Journal and Bloomberg are both reporting that these lay-offs will impact “less than two percent” of Activision Blizzard's workforce. We know that at least 50 employees from the company's esports and live events division have been impacted, as have some employees from King, the studio behind Candy Crush.

In a statement, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson confirmed the lay-offs, stating: “Players are increasingly choosing to connect with our games digitally and the e-sports team, much like traditional sports, entertainment and broadcasting industries, has had to adapt its business due to the impact the pandemic has had on live events.”

Activision Blizzard has been a heavy investor in esports over the last decade. Currently, the company runs the Call of Duty League and the Overwatch League, both of which had live events cancelled last year due to COVID-19. Now, it seems Activision wants to focus on delivering esports content digitally, rather than heavily relying on live events for tournaments and matches.

As part of the round of job cuts, employees in the US will get 90 days of severance pay, health benefits for 12 months, $200 of Battle.net gift cards and “job transition support”.

KitGuru Says: The live events industry as a whole has suffered quite a bit during the COVID-19 pandemic, although with vaccines now rolling out, there is some hope for things returning to normal later this year. Hopefully those impacted by this round of lay-offs can land on their feet elsewhere soon enough.

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Following on from Season 1’s success, the Overwatch League could get much more expensive to join https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/following-on-from-season-1s-success-the-overwatch-league-could-get-much-more-expensive-to-join/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/following-on-from-season-1s-success-the-overwatch-league-could-get-much-more-expensive-to-join/#respond Wed, 14 Feb 2018 10:06:12 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=364104 Back when Blizzard was still getting the Overwatch League up and running, we learned that the publisher had set a $20 million buy-in price for franchises wanting their team to have a spot on the league. Since then, the Overwatch League has officially kicked off and is already considered to be a huge success. With …

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Back when Blizzard was still getting the Overwatch League up and running, we learned that the publisher had set a $20 million buy-in price for franchises wanting their team to have a spot on the league. Since then, the Overwatch League has officially kicked off and is already considered to be a huge success. With that in mind, Blizzard will reportedly be jacking up the buy-in price, meaning team owners may need to spend anywhere from $35 million to $60 million for a spot on the league.

The Overwatch League just finished up the first round of season one and during that time, we saw peak viewership of around half a million people. Beyond that, Blizzard has courted some high profile sponsorships and secured a two year exclusivity deal with Twitch, reportedly worth $90 million. All of this has resulted in franchises becoming much more interested in the league, but they may have to pay a lot more to get involved by the time season two rolls around.

The Overwatch League's first year revenue is already set to be four times higher than originally projected. Back when Blizzard was first signing on teams for the league, many organisations dropped out over fears that the league would not be profitable. Now, the League's sales reps have a proven product to sell, putting them at an advantage in negotiations.

12 teams signed up for the first season of the Overwatch League, putting around $240 million in Blizzard's pocket. The franchise fee for Season 2 expansion is not set yet, but Activision Blizzard confirmed in an earnings call on Thursday that it will be higher than Season 1. league sources expressed to ESPN that they expect it will be in the $35 million to $60 million range, at least $15 million more than for the inaugural season. With that in mind, organisations based in Europe and Asia are going to have a bitter pill to swallow if they want to gain a spot on the League's roster.

However, since season one has yet to wrap up, negotiations have yet to begin. We'll learn more about Activision Blizzard's plans in the months to come.

KitGuru Says: I originally thought that the $20 million buy-in price was too high, but after this report, it almost seems cheap by comparison. I do wonder how much this will affect the introduction of new teams to the league in the future. Have any of you tuned in to the Overwatch League at all since it began?

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Overwatch League adds its first UK franchise https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/overwatch-league-adds-its-first-uk-franchise/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/overwatch-league-adds-its-first-uk-franchise/#respond Thu, 10 Aug 2017 11:05:04 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=343223 Blizzard is well on its way to launching the Overwatch League later this year, as two more franchises have signed on for spots on the league. Cloud9 has become the first UK-based franchise to be taking part, meanwhile, another Los Angeles based team has also been added to the roster, owned by the parent company …

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Blizzard is well on its way to launching the Overwatch League later this year, as two more franchises have signed on for spots on the league. Cloud9 has become the first UK-based franchise to be taking part, meanwhile, another Los Angeles based team has also been added to the roster, owned by the parent company of Arsenal, the Denver Nuggets and L.A Rams.

Jack Etienne, the founder of Cloud9 managed to get enough money together to buy in to the League. According to earlier reports, Blizzard has set the franchise fee for the Overwatch League as high as $20 million. This was largely seen as a move to try and attract bigger sports franchises from other leagues and it has worked, with big names from franchises like The New York Mets, the New England Patriots and more buying spots on the roster. However, some traditional esports organisations have also managed to make the cut so far.

The second franchise being added to the Overwatch League is owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which is the parent company behind UK football team Arsenal, NFL team L.A Rams and the Denver Nuggets, which is an NBA team.

These two new signings in particular seem to show how Blizzard is hoping to build up the Overwatch League going forward, bringing in the best organisations from esports while also attracting some big names from traditional sports leagues.

KitGuru Says: There are now nine franchises in total signed up for the Overwatch League. Blizzard still needs to sign on more to really flesh out the league but so far, this is looking like a good start. That said, I’m still not sure Overwatch has managed to prove itself as an esport yet, so it will be interesting to see how viewers react.

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Overwatch League players will get a minimum $50k salary plus benefits https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/overwatch-league-players-will-get-a-minimum-50k-salary-plus-benefits/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/overwatch-league-players-will-get-a-minimum-50k-salary-plus-benefits/#respond Thu, 27 Jul 2017 10:00:51 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=341734 There has been a lot of talk surrounding the Overwatch League in the last few weeks and while we have yet to receive an update on the logo trademark situation, Blizzard is still charging ahead. This week, the publisher announced its salary plans for players in the Overwatch League, promising all participating players a minimum …

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There has been a lot of talk surrounding the Overwatch League in the last few weeks and while we have yet to receive an update on the logo trademark situation, Blizzard is still charging ahead. This week, the publisher announced its salary plans for players in the Overwatch League, promising all participating players a minimum of $50,000 a year. The winning team for the first season will also receive a minimum of $1 million in bonuses.

One of Blizzard's core goals with the Overwatch League is to create a financially stable environment for its players. So far, seven teams have signed up for the league, though that was prior to salary details being officially outlined. Now that teams have a better idea of the financial side of things, we should start to see the league fill up.

In total, there is $3.5 million in bonus prize money available to teams competing in Season One. At least $1 million of this will go to the winning team on top of the basic $50,000 salary for every player. The prize pool isn't as huge as the one often seen in Valve's ‘The International' Dota 2 tournament. However, it is still large enough to be considered one of the more lucrative competitions around.

If the minimum $50,000 a year salary wasn't enough, Blizzard has also set rules in place requiring teams to provide health insurance for players too, in addition to housing/practising facilities for the duration of a season. A retirement savings plan is also being put in place.

Right now, there is a player signing window for teams planned to kick off on the 1st of August and end on the 30th of October. Each team must have at least six players but can have up to 12 in the roster. The league itself should kick off before the end of the year.

KitGuru Says: I'm not super familiar with how salaries are usually handled in esports but it does seem good of Blizzard to guarantee its Overwatch League players a decent minimum wage, on top of things like health insurance.

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Blizzard’s Overwatch League logo may need to be changed https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/blizzards-overwatch-league-logo-may-need-to-be-changed/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/blizzards-overwatch-league-logo-may-need-to-be-changed/#comments Wed, 19 Jul 2017 09:52:19 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=341032 Last week, Blizzard officially announced the first seven teams for the Overwatch League esports tournament. At the same time, the league's logo was revealed, which appears to have caught the attention of Major League Baseball (MLB), which could lead to some legal trouble. Right now, MLB is said to be gearing up to oppose Blizzard's …

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Last week, Blizzard officially announced the first seven teams for the Overwatch League esports tournament. At the same time, the league's logo was revealed, which appears to have caught the attention of Major League Baseball (MLB), which could lead to some legal trouble. Right now, MLB is said to be gearing up to oppose Blizzard's trademark for the logo on the grounds that it is too similar to the MLB logo.

The experts over at law firm Morrison/Lee explained that Blizzard registered its logo on the 28th of March, at which point third parties were given the opportunity to oppose it. At the time, MLB filed for a 90 day extension, giving it more time to file an opposition, though the deadline runs out on the 26th of July.

You can see both logos side by side above. There are some similarities between the two and it seems that MLB may be worried about a perceived connection between it and the Overwatch League. There is some ground for that too, as the owner of the New York Mets baseball team also owns a team on the Overwatch League. Blizzard has also been active in trying to get already established sports team owners invested into the Overwatch League.

It is a tricky case and if MLB does end up successfully opposing the current Overwatch League logo, then Blizzard will need to make some adjustments.

KitGuru Says: MLB still has until the 26th of July to oppose, so we won't know what is happening for sure until then. Do you guys think the Overwatch League and MLB logos might be too similar? 

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