Jessica S. March 26, 2019
Prominent streamer and Dallas Fuel coach Justin "Jayne" Conroy leaked on his stream that an Overwatch League viewership tool will be available to “everyone” soon.
While it is unclear exactly who “everyone” is, fans are taking this to mean that all Overwatch League viewers will have access to the viewer, which is a tool that allows viewers to select which player’s in-game perspective they would like to see. They can also select a few different cameras, including an overhead view and a free camera that the user can control.
If a user has selected a player to watch, they can see the action in three different views. They can watch in first-person, over-the-shoulder, and in third-person directly behind the player’s hero. There are hot keys to that allow quick access to the scene or player that the viewer would like to see as action unfolds.
During the 2018 Overwatch World Cup, fans got their hands on the viewer for the first time. While buggy at the start, the viewer was generally well received, and its ensuing success led to speculation as to whether the tool might be implemented into the Overwatch League.
Currently, a viewer similar to the one used in the World Cup is available through the All-Access Pass on Twitch. The fee for access to this feature is $19.99 and comes with some additional perks such as custom emotes and a collection of bits for Twitch Prime members.
“As far as I’m aware, the Overwatch League teams are getting access to the viewer for Stage 2 and then I think the goal is for it to be available to everyone for Stage 3,” Jayne said.
Fans are skeptical that Blizzard would release the viewer for everyone due to it already being a paid feature which many fans have paid to subscribe to, but it was quickly pointed out that the All-Access Pass does include the casters’ voices while the viewer in the Blizzard client does not.
No official word has yet been given by Blizzard in response to the apparent leak.