Activision Blizzard released its Q2 earnings report, and in it, the company unveiled that it has begun reducing its staff, specifically in the esports division. This is being done with the future of the Overwatch League in mind. This will allow the esports teams a chance to decide whether they wish to continue under the revised terms or call it quits and receive a payment of $6 million. According to Activision Blizzard, the company will have to pay a total of $114 million. This essentially decides the fate of the Overwatch League, and no one but the teams will decide.
Overwatch League has struggled financially, contributing under one percent of Activision Blizzard’s total revenue. The company allegedly had an outstanding balance of $400 million in franchise fees for Overwatch and Call of Duty combined last year because of the pandemic.
Overwatch League Might Go Away As Overwatch 2 Popularity Falls
The Activision Blizzard report also admitted that interest in Overwatch is declining. After the whole PvE cancelation debacle, “engagement and player investment” dropped significantly. After the recent pride event, the team puts all its proverbial chips in next month’s Invasion update to help rekindle the community. But even to an outsider, it shouldn’t be surprising that the game’s relevance has been dwindling as of late.
Overwatch 2 launched to constant criticism, being called Overwatch 1.5 because of its lackluster updates. The game was expected to be Overwatch 1 with balance changes and a new coat of paint. While the second game had balance changes, it skipped the painting process.
Although all of this spells doom and gloom, Overwatch League could still stick around in a different capacity. League Commissioner Sean Miller stated:
I want to emphasize that Overwatch is steadfast in maintaining a competitive environment in 2024 and beyond. We’re progressing towards a rejuvenated global platform that prioritizes players and fans… If you observe our playoff structure for this year, it closely mirrors [Apex Legends] and should serve as a confirmation that we’re drawing inspiration from it. Our playoff setup this year is nearly identical to Apex’s second season.
It is uncertain what the teams will decide. Still, in either case, Activision Blizzard has its work cut out for it amidst the Microsoft acquisition in reviving the Overwatch 2 player base if it wants people to continue to compete.
