Overwatch
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Sinatraa says Blizzard won’t tell him about his own MVP skin
Olivia Richman
Blizzard is apparently not telling Jay “Sinatraa” Won any more information about his in-game Overwatch skin. On last night’s stream, the Overwatch League MVP revealed that he had no idea when his skin was coming out thanks to leaking details in September of 2019 when it was first announced. “When’s my skin coming out? I don’t know. Dude, they literally told me nothing now because I leaked that one thing …
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Overwatch Hero Pools coming to break up stale OWL metagame
gabhernandez
Starting on March 7, the Overwatch League will be implementing a new mechanic to the game in the form of hero pools. Rumors about hero bans have been swirling for weeks to the point where Blizzard exec Jeff Kaplan addressed the discussions directly. Though he declared that hero bans were not something the development teams was considering, he alluded to some manner of change being in the pipeline. In a …
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Paris Eternal may be relocating to New Jersey for OWL Season 3
William Davis
Overwatch League Paris Eternal won’t be operating from the city of love, according to a person familiar with the team. The Overwatch League was intended to operate as a global tournament with teams geolocated in specific cities. In 2020, it seems like the geolocation is more of a suggestion than a mandatory requirement. Paris Eternal will not be operating from Europe, but instead is setting up camp in New Jersey. …
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Coronavirus forces OWL to cancel months of Chinese homestands
gabhernandez
Following the cancellation of numerous public gatherings due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Overwatch League has finally made the decision to cancel all of its February and March games in China. Five homestands will be cancelled as a result of the decision. This will scrap Shanghai’s week two homestand, Guangzhou’s weeks three, six, and seven homestands, and Hangzhou’s week four homestand. Fans were uncertain what action Blizzard would …
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Overwatch PTR update nerfs double barrier, changes McCree
Olivia Richman
A game-changing patch hit Overwatch’s Public Test Realm yesterday. After patch 1.44 aimed to balance the hero roster, the most recent patch has made some additional changes to meta heroes like Orisa and Sigma. Many damage heroes were also targeted in hopes of further balancing the game. After GOATS was retired from the Overwatch League, double barrier meta took over the competitive Overwatch scene. The main heroes required in this …
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Activision Blizzard esports are now exclusive to YouTube Gaming
gabhernandez
Activision Blizzard and Google have announced a new partnership today that will see all Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Hearthstone esports broadcasts streamed exclusively through YouTube Gaming. The partnership extends even further than traditional broadcast rights. Google Cloud will be the “preferred partner” for hosting Blizzard games. Google also plans to better the experience for fans and players with infrastructure improvements made to its servers hosting these games. Last year, …
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Jaws draws Overwatch League Season 3 casting job after exodus
Olivia Richman
Former Overwatch Contenders Europe caster Jack “Jaws” Wright is joining the Overwatch League broadcast team in the 2020 season. Jaws will be casting with Robert “Hexagrams” Kirkbride, whose previous partner, Auguste “Semmler” Massonnat, recently left the Overwatch League to return to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Jaws took to Twitter to reveal the news and express his excitement. For Jaws, casting the Overwatch League became a goal after watching APEX from his bedroom and …
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These are the best Overwatch League players to watch in 2020
Olivia Richman
Overwatch League fans are already buzzing about the 2020 season. With a completely global schedule and a revolving list of broadcast talent, Season 3 has a lot of changes that have the community curious about the league’s future. While controversy at Blizzard continues, there’s no debate that this season has an impressive mix of veteran talent and exciting newcomers that are sure to make matches more explosive than ever. Let’s …
Jeff Kaplan shuts down hero ban rumors in Overwatch League 2020
gabhernandez
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Jeff Kaplan has squashed rumors related to banning heroes in Overwatch League’s 2020 season. In the last few days, OWL fans have been buzzing about possible hero bans. Season 2 had a lot of complaints regarding the GOATS meta, which wasn’t really helped when the 2-2-2 role lock ushered in the double shield meta. With the new season quickly approaching, many fans are wondering what things will look like in …
Brigitte gets a special goat skin in honor of GOATS meta
gabhernandez
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Blizzard has announced a new GOAT Brigitte skin, an homage to the Overwatch League meta that just about everyone hated in spite of its very long tenure on the game’s biggest stage. “To celebrate the Greatest Of All Time,” Blizzard tweeted. “Goat Brigitte will be available February 6 to kick-off the start of #OWL2020.” The reaction was instant and varied widely. Overwatch content creator Tom “Stylosa” Stewart chimed in with …
Overwatch pros consider strike over OWL 2020 travel obligations
Olivia Richman
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Some Overwatch League players may be going on strike in the near future. As the 2020 season draws near, some OWL pros are becoming wary of the intense traveling requirements of the new global schedule. While teams will start off playing opponents from their own division, they will soon need to fly around the world. Concerns over these travel obligations were raised shortly after the initial announcement, but with February 8 …
OWL fans can earn exclusive in-game sprays by attending games
Olivia Richman
News
Jet setting Overwatch League fans who attend matches in the 2020 season will receive exclusive in-game sprays. Each spray will represent the city where the tournament is being hosted that weekend. So far, only Dallas and New York’s sprays have been revealed, leaving the rest a surprise to Overwatch League fans. Dallas’ spray features a bloodshot eye engulfed in blue flames, while New York’s spray depicts a tour bus with …
Overwatch League reveals new jerseys for 2020 season in hilarious way
gabhernandez
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Fans in the North American region were getting ready for bed when a number of Overwatch League team accounts threw them into a tizzy with one single word. Coo. The Guangzhou Charge started it off when their profile picture changed to the silhouette of a bird, which was followed by a tweet that simply read “coo.” Before anyone could react, numerous other teams joined in by changing their avatars to …
Jeff Kaplan discusses possible 1-3-2 role lock in Overwatch 2
Olivia Richman
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They didn’t like dive. They hated GOATS. They don’t like 2-2-2. And now some Overwatch fans are begging Blizzard to “save the game” by changing to a 1-3-2 role lock. One fan took to the Blizzard forums to discuss why 1-3-2 role lock would benefit the game. Their first point was that one tank, three DPS, and two support heroes would fix DPS wait times. “People want to play DPS, …
Dafran stands up for Overwatch League in ongoing caster drama
Olivia Richman
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As the Overwatch League’s global 2020 season approaches, more and more broadcast talent have announced they are leaving. This has created quite some cause for concern despite new talent taking over some of the positions. To address the growing gossip surrounding the seemingly constant stream of departures, senior director Jon Spector told The Esports Observer that there’s nothing for fans to worry about going into 2020. “We’re incredibly thankful for …
Fans unsure what to expect this year for Overwatch Lunar New Year
Olivia Richman
News
Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland event has just ended and fans are already discussing the game’s next event: Lunar New Year. For 2020, Lunar New Year will be the Year of the Rat. Players are already speculating new skins for Junkrat and Wrecking Ball, for obvious reasons. While these two heroes are safe bets for legendary skins, no information on the event have been revealed or leaked as of yet. 2019’s Year …
Bdosin signs with Seoul Dynasty for OWL season 3, and fans are mad
gabhernandez
News
Flex support Seung-tae “Bdosin” Choi has split from the London Spitfire and signed with the Seoul Dynasty. This expands the Dynasty’s roster to nine players, including the following: Jinmo “tobi” Yang Minhyuk “Michelle” Choi Minseo “Marve1” Hwang Dongeon “FITS” Kim Jaemin “ILLICIT” Park Junyoung “Profit” Park Jaehui “Gesture” Hong Youngwan “Creative” Kim Seungtae “Bdosin” Choi The reaction from fans has been mixed. In 2017, Bdosin became embroiled in controversy when …
Semmler and Malik leave OWL as fans wonder about S3 casters
gabhernandez
News
Two Overwatch League casting staples have revealed their intentions for 2020, and neither is staying. Malik Forté and Auguste “Semmler” Massonnat are not returning to the OWL broadcast talent team, they have announced on Twitter. The reaction has been worrisome among some segments of the Overwatch League community. A lot of fans had expected some of the talent to leave, but Forté was one that fans weren’t expecting. While most …
Houston Outlwas forced to move out of Woodlands training facility
William Davis
News
The Overwatch League’s Houston Outlaws team is being forced to move out of its training facility in The Woodlands, a community located in Houston, Texas. Houston Outlaws general manager Matt Rodriguez shared on Twitter that the team is being forced to leave the 5900-square-foot home that was intended to be used as a training facility. According to Rodriguez, the players have their own living arrangements outside of The Woodlands. The …
Jeff Kaplan teases Baptiste nerf in Overwatch, leading to outrage
Olivia Richman
News
One Reddit user’s prayers were answered when Jeff Kaplan responded to their pleas for a Baptiste nerf. When they put forward the idea that Baptiste’s Immortality Field cooldown should start after it’s destroyed, the Overwatch lead designer responded. Blizzard’s popular executive said they have been “trying out some changes” to make Baptiste’s Immortality Field “less oppressive.” It’s not clear what changes will come to the new support hero, but Baptiste’s …
Overwatch has become a mainstay in competitive gaming, though the Blizzard creation hasn’t always had a smooth road to travel. From massive peaks of success to major controversies and dips in popularity, the Overwatch franchise has proved resilient, still playing host to legions of players and fans.
Along the way, the game served as host to one of the most ambitious projects in the growing history of esports, and saw the release of a sequel that changed in form and function multiple times before finally releasing to the public.
What is Overwatch?
Overwatch is a prototypical “hero shooter,” a game that combines first-person shooting gameplay with heroic abilities that are unique to each of the game’s diverse cast of characters. One character might swing a giant hammer and wield a protective shield behind which teammate can take cover, while another might zip around the game’s world with twin guns blazing, warping time and space at will.
That variety of characters and playing styles is a big reason for Overwatch’s success. When no two characters play exactly alike, the sheer variety available in the game becomes a draw. Throw in colorful visuals, dynamic and responsive gameplay, and action-packed battles between teams of opposing players all combining their different abilities together, and you can begin to understand the popularity of Overwatch.
When developers at Blizzard first released Overwatch, there was nothing else quite like it. The closest any major release had come was likely Team Fortress 2, which also featured teams of opposing characters wielding varied abilities in prolonged battles. But Overwatch leaned even further into the unique qualities of its characters, including their presentation. Across PCs and consoles alike, the game proved to be a sensation upon its 2016 release.
What happened to the Overwatch League?
Originally founded in 2017, the Overwatch League was meant to serve as a long-term competitive hub for the game’s professional teams and players prior to its official shutdown in 2024. The league was created with big ambitions in mind, as Blizzard, by then partnered with massive publisher Activision, planned to seed local teams in a variety of cities spread across the world. The idea was to emulate traditional professional sports by rooting pro teams in certain cities and regions in the hopes of cultivating local fan followings.
This was a big change compared what had become the standard in esports, with esports organizations representing themselves to their fans regardless of region. At most, broad regions such as North America or Europe were most often marketed to by individual teams. To hone that in on a specific city was a significant change.
Activision-Blizzard also took the step of making pro Overwatch a closed system; that is, high-level tournaments were broadly restricted outside of official OWL events. While this exclusivity offered theoretical opportunity for the OWL through scarcity, it was also a different approach relevant to the established norm in esports, which traditionally saw smaller grass-roots events feed into a game’s highest levels as tournaments gradually scaled up in prominence and prize offerings.
Demanding tens of millions of dollars from investors who sought to own an OWL team and signing big-money exclusive broadcast deals with streaming platforms, the OWL got itself off to a hot start. But concerns over flagging viewership and overall revenue struggles persisted as the league marched forward. Its intended model proved unsustainable, and the league was eventually shut down.
Do people still play Overwatch?
Despite the fate of OWL, Overwatch remains broadly popular in its current form: Overwatch 2. The game remains under active development at Activision-Blizzard, regularly receiving new in-game events and more unique heroes with special abilities that allow the game to be played in different ways.
The release of Overwatch 2 was itself not without some controversy, as Blizzard’s plans for its contents changed and shifted through the sequel’s development cycle, and the final version of OW2 released as more of a continuation of the original game than a distinctly different sequel. But that continuation still preserved the gameplay and overall experience so many players had come to love about OW. For them, getting more of the same ultimately was not an issue.
