Overwatch
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Overwatch for Switch rumors swirl including release date, merch
Fariha Bhatti
The Overwatch community seems poised to grow even larger. Rumors have been swirling that Overwatch is being ported to the Nintendo Switch. Recently, a weblink to an Amazon listing appeared on Twitter showing what appeared to be Overwatch-themed Nintendo Switch accessories, particularly a hard carrying case that is officially licensed by both Nintendo and Blizzard. The listing was made by PowerA, who have an expansive catalog of video game merchandise. …
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Boston Uprising Colourhex gets revenge on Atlanta Reign for emote
Olivia Richman
Atlanta Reign easily took down Boston Uprising during their Homestand Weekend match, as predicted during a press conference the day before. Even though the crowd was impressed with Atlanta Reign’s performance that weekend, what got them the most hyped was when their tank Blake “Gator” Scott was eliminated. And that’s because it represented somedeserved karma. After eliminating Boston Uprising’s Do-hyung “Stellar” Lee, Gator began to celebrate by emoting on top …
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Team USA announce final roster for Overwatch World Cup
Olivia Richman
Team USA has revealed the entirety of its final roster for the 2019 Overwatch World Cup. While an expected shortlist was announced a month ago, the official roster has a few unexpected picks for fans who have been patiently awaiting the news. To keep the Overwatch community hype all day, the official Team USA Twitter account revealed only a few players at a time, with announcements spread out over the …
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Dogman rips “incompetent” Fuel coach Aero for Team USA trials
William Davis
The Atlanta Reign’s 3-1 victory over the Dallas Fuel had special meaning for Dusttin “Dogman” Bowerman. The Reign flex support had some strong words for Fuel head coach Aaron “Aero” Atkins after the game. During the post-match interview, Dogman was extremely candid about his feelings on Aero’s handling of the Team USA selection process. Dogman alleged that three of the Reign’s American players didn’t “make it past the first round …
NYXL still confident after losing to Vancouver at Homestand Weekend
Olivia Richman
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After an intense five-map match, the Vancouver Titans defeated the New York Excelsior. That didn’t stop the Overwatch League community from thinking that the NYXL is the best team of all-time, according to a recent Twitter poll. While the San Francisco Shock were quick to tweet back their indignation over the results, the NYXL still remain one of the OWL’s most popular teams with the biggest fanbase. The NYXL discussed …
Los Angeles Valiant GM Michael Schwartz discusses OWL 2020
Olivia Richman
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Los Angeles Valiant’s Homestand Weekend at The Novo in downtown Los Angeles is just a sneak peak of what’s to come in Overwatch League 2020, according to general manager Michael Schwartz. The future home base of the Valiant once the league goes global next year, Schwartz noted that this weekend was the team’s chance to showcase their personality. “We have a wholesome brand,” he told reporters including WIN.gg in a …
Immortals CEO Ari Segal says Overwatch League 2020 will be hard
Olivia Richman
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While Los Angeles Valiant’s Homestand Weekend has fans excited, there may not be anyone as enthusiastic about the team’s first opportunity to host the Overwatch League than Immortals Gaming Club CEO Ari Segal. Valiant’s parent company, Immortals Gaming Club, has a lot to look forward to in 2020. First, there’s the return to the LCS thanks to the OpTic Gaming buyout. And now there’s the opportunity to grow their global precense in …
Hangzhou Spark defeat Shanghai Dragons at Los Angeles Homestand
Olivia Richman
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Hangzhou Spark cemented their title as one of the top Chinese teams in the Overwatch League by beating the Shanghai Dragons 4-0 at the Los Angeles Valiant’s Homestand Weekend. In the first two maps, Kyeong “Godsb” Bo Kim completely dominated as Widowmaker. With only two deaths, Godsb got headshot after headshot, often eliminating the Dragons’ Orisa before they put up their barrier. On Volskaya, Dragon’s Min-seong “diem” Bae switched to Widowmaker in hopes …
Shanghai Dragons regret 2-2-2 role lock, pine for meta reversion
Olivia Richman
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After losing to the Hangzhou Spark at the Los Angeles Valiant’s Homestand Weekend, the Shanghai Dragons must reflect on their ongoing losing streak. The Shanghai Dragons ended Season 4 with a 13-15 record, putting them in 11th place. While they are still heading to the playoffs, the Dragons will have to up their game if they want to make their mark this time around. Despite surprising the Overwatch League community …
Atlanta Reign take down Dallas Homestand Weekend, next face Boston
Olivia Richman
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The Atlanta Reign defeated the Dallas Fuel 3-1 at the Los Angeles Valiant’s Homestand Weekend. Now, if the Georgia team can win their Boston Uprising match tomorrow, they’ll secure the 6th-place spot in the playoffs. Despite a few surprising plays from the Fuel, such as their Pharah-Mei comp, the Atlanta Reign were able to come out on top in almost every team fight. On the first map, Busan, Petja “Massa” …
NYXL discuss playoff meta, dealing with 2020 OWL changes
Olivia Richman
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New York Excelsior came out on top in the battle of the New England Overwatch League teams at Los Angeles Valiant’s Homestand Weekend, defeating Boston Uprising 3-1. The match went as expected, with NYXL dominating the majority of the maps and team fights. But when the Boston Uprising attempted to deny NYXL the fourth and final map, Hae-seong “Libero” Kim had fans screaming as he wiped the Uprising with Doomfist in …
Full Overwatch League 2020 schedule revealed, features global events
Olivia Richman
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Blizzard has revealed the entirety of the 2020 Overwatch League schedule. Next year is set to be a huge one for the OWL as it will be the first season where the league reaches true global status. After years of being almost exclusively hosted at the Burbank Studios in California, the show is going on the road for events held in the home cities of every franchise. The OWL will …
Overwatch update hits PTR, bringing nerfs to Symmetra and others
William Davis
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A bundle of nerfs has landed on the Overwatch PTR. The 1.40 patch is now being tested, and it looks to bring the first round of balance changes since 1.39’s implementation of role queue. The update aims to soften some of the strongest heroes in the game right now, but does not offer any real buffs to weaker ones. The biggest change is a significant downgrade to Symmetra’s Photon Projector. …
Dallas Fuel and Guangzhou Charge see longest pause in OWL history
gabhernandez
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The Dallas Fuel and Guangzhou Charge recently experienced the longest mid-game pause in Overwatch League history. The pause happened during game four of their series, on Havana. The Charge had already finished their attacking phase and made it all the way through the map’s three checkpoints. The Fuel were struggling to push the point and had less than 60 seconds to go when the game was paused. At first, the …
Overwatch pro called out for griefing teammates over hero dispute
gabhernandez
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Being teamed up with an Overwatch League player isn’t always as great as it would seem. Vancouver Titans tank player Sang-bom “Bumper” Park has been accused of intentionally throwing a role queue game because a teammate wouldn’t allow him to select Sigma. The player who got into the dispute with Bumper, posting under the handle Excavy, opened up on the incident on Reddit. According to the post, Bumper entered a …
Popular streamer xQc says he is labelled as a ‘brand risk’ by Twitch
Nina Forneloza
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Félix “xQc” Lengyel is seen as a “brand risk” by Twitch. The 23-year-old former Dallas Fuel player has become one of Twitch’s most popular variety streamers over the last year. Despite having almost 1.5 million followers on the platform, Twitch seems to have serious concerns over his conduct on the site. Lengyel made the revelation on-stream while discussing another content creator. “I’m a brand risk,” xQc said. “They already told …
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.
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