One other franchise leaves Overwatch League, shifts focus away from esports solely—for now

One other gunslinger is leaving city within the type of the Houston Outlaws formally exiting the Overwatch League as we speak whereas shifting all the focus of the model to content material and away from esports—in the meanwhile.

Whereas nonetheless primarily based in Houston, the group has rebranded simply to the identify Outlaws and is completely centered on “content material and leisure” in the meanwhile, in accordance with a mock press convention announcement video posted as we speak. Within the announcement, the group’s new content material creator core was launched by managers Choi “Junkbuck” Jae-won and Hyung-seok “Bischu” Kim.

Along with confirming the staff’s exit from the Overwatch League, the remaining members of the Outlaws’ Overwatch division mentioned they’re “not ruling something out but” in terms of competing in different esports. The Outlaws launched its complete participant roster final month, only a week faraway from the staff’s grand finals loss to the Florida Mayhem in what nearly actually would be the closing Overwatch League playoffs.

However a number of longtime followers weren’t pleased with the announcement, most notably in that the Outlaws didn’t signal or retain any Overwatch gamers or creators. Outlaws put out a tweet after the announcement saying it might discover “extra Overwatch 2 content material together with VALORANT, [Call of Duty], and Fortnite” primarily based on neighborhood survey responses.

With its departure, the Outlaws turns into the third franchise to leave the Overwatch League this yr alongside the Chengdu Hunters and Toronto Defiant, and the second to take action through the postseason proprietor’s vote together with the Toronto possession group OverActive Media. The Outlaws franchise was acquired in 2019 by Beasley Broadcast Group after it and OpTic Gaming had been acquired by Immortals Gaming Membership, homeowners of the L.A. Valiant.

Whereas a overwhelming majority of Overwatch League franchises nonetheless haven’t introduced their future plans, league officers have confirmed the demise of the league, just lately telling GGRecon that it’s “transitioning from the Overwatch League and evolving aggressive Overwatch in a brand new route.”

Author: Ronnie Neal