Teams are abandoning ‘Overwatch’ before its official league debuts

Yesterday, Blizzard announced that it had formed a dedicated eSports division within the company. It will operate under the name Major League Gaming, the organization bought by the studio in 2015, and run the official Overwatch League (OWL) and World Cup. But several major eSports teams have started abandoning the game ahead of the competitive league’s launch. Some of which did, reportedly, because it costs $20 million to franchise an official team.

That’s the figure sources told ESPN, which might even be higher in large markets like New York City or Los Angeles. Compare that to a spot in the League Championship Series for Riot’s League of Legends, one of which sold for $1.8 million last December. Five esports organizations announced they will stop fielding teams for Overwatch in the last week; a statement from one player on Team SoloMid’s roster for the game admitted that the cost of entering OWL was a factor in disbanding its team.

CompLexity Gaming’s statement outright stated that the game’s competitive scene was in too much of a “transitional phase” for them to keep a live roster. They also noted a “narrow field” of events limited competition, which was also a factor in professional gaming organization Splyce giving up their Overwatch team. Denial Esports has apparently also released their squad, as has Red Reserve.

Blizzard originally planned to launch OWL at its annual BlizzCon event in late 2017. The league is set up like the NFL or NBA, with teams centered in large cities. We’ve reached out to Blizzard and will update when we hear back.

Source: ESPN