Microsoft’s acquisition of gaming firm Activision Blizzard could also be off to an costly begin with the tech large prone to foot the $120 million invoice for the dissolution of the Overwatch League—ought to the vote to close down the league be handed.
First reported in July 2023 following a spate of layoffs at the company and uncertainty over the league’s future, Blizzard opted to permit the 20 OWL group homeowners to vote on an up to date working settlement.
Nonetheless, after conferring with organizations by the earlier months, each group is about to discontinue participation, in line with journalist Jacob Wolf in a Nov. 3 report.
The results of such a vote? Every franchise that opts out of Blizzard’s plans to continue the OWL will obtain a $6 million termination payout, and whereas it gained’t cowl what every group laid out to enter and keep within the league, it’s proving to be too candy of a deal to go up.
The vote’s consequence, anticipated within the coming weeks, comes a month after Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard was finally greenlit after months of negotiations stalled the acquisition of the corporate.
Activision Blizzard had already waived the bulk of the remaining franchise fees groups nonetheless owed in June, which softened the financial blow considerably. However, it’s a tragic and sorry finish to Overwatch esports as we all know it, for now.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the frosty reception to Overwatch 2 proved the ultimate nails within the coffin for the OWL, which had been in regular decline since its inception in 2017. Between sharp drop-offs in viewership, the departure of major sponsors, an growth into gambling and alcohol advertisement, and anger from teams who invested millions for little achieve, the OWL in its present kind has not glad any related occasion.
On the very least, Overwatch’s present period went out with a bang as 318,780 tuned in to look at Saudi Arabia shock China within the Overwatch World Cup grand last, in line with viewership stats site Esports Charts. It’s the best peak for an OWWC since 2017, indicating curiosity within the esport continues to be excessive and that, with the precise administration, Overwatch esports can nonetheless survive.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are in talks with a number of events to open the Overwatch esports scene up in 2024, with the Saudi-backed ESL FACEIT Group early frontrunners to take the reins for the following period of professional Overwatch 2.
