Last week’s announcement at BlizzCon that Blizzard would be launching a pro sports-style Overwatch League was an expected and welcome game changer for the eSports industry. Now teams, brands, platforms and players alike await details on what the publisher is describing as “a world-class, sports ecosystem for professional Overwatch competition.” Blizzard announced that the league would focus on long-term stability for teams with regional franchises instead of team relegation, as well as a player combine, signing period, minimum salary and benefits with a debut set for 2017. The move further blended the mix of traditional and eSports executives, as Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Rams owner Stan Kroenke and Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke were all in attendance at the event. Click here to hear the details.
“The Overwatch League represents not only the pinnacle of Overwatch competition, but also a genuine career opportunity for the most skilled Overwatch players,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re building a league that’s accessible to players and fans, sustainable, and exciting for everyone involved.”
One factor designed to keep the league sustainable will be the regional franchise element, as teams will be asked to bid to represent their city/state/region, with teams projected to be housed around the world.
“Anyone who says they are not interested is probably not a tier one or tier two team,” said Marty ‘Lazerchicken’ Strenczewilk, CEO & President at Splyce.gg, whose team could theoretically represent New York. “But I would say that, right now, it is a bit of a wait and see to see what the specifics are going to be because none of us know what the costs are going to look like, how the revenue structure will support it early on, etc.”
Strenczewilk noted that the regional element was an important piece of the puzzle, noting that “As the only major team in New York state, I find that when people find out they we are from their state, they become a fan. It’s a tactic we haven’t tapped into enough.” The sentiment is shared by Frank Villarreal, Co Founder and CEO at the Las Vegas-based Rogue, who plans to bid to represent the city.
“The current plans for Overwatch League are extremely ambitious, which is worrying a lot of eSports fans because they fear that the league will take on too much before the audience is ready to support it,” said Villareal. “But talking to the people in charge, they are planning to scale this up over time. A lot of what they presented on the video won’t necessarily be in its complete form until 2019 so they understand that they need the audience to support something as massive as this and it is going to take some time to develop that audience.”
That represents a new opportunity for brands to sponsor and activate in the eSports space, boosted by the fact that schedules, teams, etc. would all have a formal structure with which to work. “We are excited to see the industry creating even more predictable premium opportunities for brands to connect with and reach the desirable audience engaged in eSports,” said Stuart Lipson, Executive Director at the eSports Ad Bureau. “Even better to see members of the eSports Ad Bureau demonstrating their leadership in moving the industry forward.”
Overall, Blizzard invited around 125 owners and representatives from traditional sports and eSports organizations to discuss potential involvement with the new league. Blizzard Global eSports Director Nate Nanzer told the OverView podcast that “Every single person who owns an Overwatch eSports team was at BlizzCon,” adding “We are absolutely trying to include everyone.”
