From a distance, it seems Blizzard has everything figured out with Overwatch. $1 billion in sales and 30 million players is a massive commercial and cultural success. Taking out the magnifying glass to examine Overwatch from a competitive gaming perspective tells a different story, however.
Blizzard wants Overwatch to be a major esport, but so far they’ve had a difficult time convincing many people that they’re up to that challenge.Overwatch esports barely has a pulse right now, and that can’t be what Blizzard wants with Overwatch League set to launch later this year. Organizations are dropping their rosters left and right, and it’s what Blizzard isn’t saying or doing that has them worried. Take it from Ninjas in Pyjamas, the European team that had one of the best Overwatch rosters in the world. Upon eliminating their team on June 21st, they said, “The scene has not evolved as expected with viewership being below expectations and Blizzard is yet to announce more details surrounding their upcoming Overwatch League.” Splyce had similar sentiments upon their departure, saying, “It’s been challenging for us in growing a fanbase around the game, and so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to keep investing resources in the title currently.”
Indeed, there isn’t much of a scene outside of whatever Blizzard has to offer (Contender tournaments and the Overwatch Open Division in July), and those events haven’t really been bringing in the fans. The last major LAN tournament was Overwatch Takeover 2 in early June, and that peaked at just 25,839 viewers, according to Esports Charts. Before that, it was the NGE Winter Premiere finals all the way back in January at PAX South. You have to go abroad to find the only meaningful league-style LAN tournament for Overwatch, and that’s South Korea’s OGN Overwatch Apex, currently in its third season.
The only recurring online tournament with a following, Alienware’s Overwatch Monthly Melee, saw its final brackets played out back in May. Visibility for teams is low, and they’re taking precautions.
The business side of Blizzard’s massive undertaking, Overwatch League, doesn’t have people feeling very comfortable, either. As a multi-step project, it’s been slow going, with interested parties only hearing rumors of franchising fees going up to $20 million depending on location and delayed revenue sharing, according to a report by ESPN. By contrast, Riot’s buy-in cost for LCS will be $10 million, and that’s for the biggest esport in the world, League of Legends. Having people like…
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