Former Overwatch pro Brandon “Seagull” Larned has opened up to fans about the Overwatch League’s allegedly oppressive contracts.
According to Seagull, he and other Dallas Fuel teammates refused to sign contracts offered to them by the Overwatch League. This is something the Overwatch community has always suspected, surprised that one of the most popular North American Overwatch players would leave after the inaugural season.
Seagull tweeted to fans that the Overwatch League contract had a lot of policies regarding players’ streaming rules. The contract allegedly told professional players that they had to sign their streaming platform rights away. They were also unable to criticize Overwatch as a game.
“My team did not sign. We walked,” Seagull said.
COD players aren’t alone on this one.
OWL players were given a set of streaming rules/policies at the player’s summit to sign.
Included were clauses signing away my rights to my streaming platform and the right to criticize the game “Overwatch”
My team did not sign. We walked. https://t.co/sJnTMvq0AG
— Brandon Larned (@A_Seagull) November 15, 2020
Seagull decided to open up after professional Call of Duty player Seth “Scump” Abner revealed contract misconduct in the Call of Duty League.
“Call of Duty players aren’t alone on this one. Overwatch League players were given a set of streaming policies at the Player’s Summit to sign, too,” Seagull tweeted.
The tweet was a response to Scump’s revelation that the Call of Duty League forced him and other players to sign a contract without letting them discuss it with their lawyers first. The OpTic Gaming player also revealed that he was fined for playing Raid Shadow Legends during a sponsored stream, noting that the contract’s regulations were very strict on streaming.
While Overwatch League and Call of Duty League are both separate competitions, the two leagues are both owned and operated by Activision Blizzard. Each has their own department and team, but they certainly seem that they might be taking similar guidelines from each other.
The biggest concern for pros seems to be the streaming restrictions. Twitch is often how pro gamers make a good chunk of money and also how they maintain their fanbase. After leaving the Overwatch League, Felix “xQc” Lengyel became one of the highest-earning streamers on Twitch, making it far more lucrative than when he played professionally and was consistently being fined for his behavior.
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