Overwatch
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Munchkin leaves Seoul Dynasty ahead of OWL Stage 4
William Davis
According to a tweet from Sang-beom “Munchkin” Byeon’s personal Twitter account, he and Overwatch League team Seoul Dynasty have mutually agreed to part ways. Munchkin claims the departure from the team is due to “personal reasons” and not due to his ongoing wrist injury troubles. Munchkin also stated that he is not retiring, and will be angling to join another Overwatch League team in the future. Munchkin has played in …
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MonteCristo reveals OWL teams almost unanimous in 2-2-2 approval
M Alzamora
When it came time to weigh in on a rule change that would disrupt Overwatch League’s long-standing GOATS meta, the result among the league’s teams was overwhelmingly in favor of the proposition. Overwatch League commentator Christoper “MonteCristo” Mykles, who hasn’t been shy to cry for change, said in the latest OverSight podcast that nearly all OWL teams pushed for Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues to enforce a 2-2-2 role lock in …
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Shanghai Dragons Gamsu reflects on Stage 3 win, plans for Stage 4
Olivia Richman
The Shanghai Dragons have a storyline no one could have written. They started their Overwatch League run with a 0-42 record, but quickly improved until they were crowned the Stage 3 champions in Season 2. Now, Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh looks back on Stage 3 with WIN.gg, recalling the momentous win over San Francisco Shock, the rise of the triple DPS composition, and what it took to overcome their weaknesses. How did …
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Sigma abilities revealed as new tank hero joins Overwatch roster
William Davis
Sigma is joining the Overwatch roster as a new tank hero with a series of gravity-manipulating abilities. The psychotic astrophysicist’s kit was revealed during Brandon “A_Seagull” Larned’s birthday stream. He was joined by Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan as the two showed off what this new barrier tank is capable of. Sigma’s auto attack is Hyperspheres, two gravity-defying objects that the tank can hurl at enemies without need for reloading. …
Shroud addresses smurfing in Overwatch, gives developers advice
Nina Forneloza
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In a recent stream, Michael “shroud” Grzesiek gave some simple tips for developers on how to deal with smurf accounts. He gave the advice after an experience playing popular FPS Overwatch. The former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional does not normally stream Overwatch, but recently dove into the game’s ranked play and has played many different games where the practice of smurfing is commonplace. Shroud now has some thoughts on ways …
Vancouver Homestand Weekend 2020 gets tended to by Tourism Vancouver
Olivia Richman
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The Vancouver Titans recently announced that the 2020 Overwatch League season will include homestand weekends at the Rogers Arena. Home to the Vancouver Canucks hockey team, the large stadium holds up to 18,000 people. And the city is already contemplating how they can provide further esports-related entertainment for the OWL community that will wind up visiting Vancouver those weekends. Tourism Vancouver CEO Ty Speer told City News that Vancouver needs …
Shroud in Overwatch gets a surprising skill rating in ranked
Steven Rondina
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Overwatch doesn’t seem to think all that much of Michael “shroud” Grzesiek. The popular streamer and former Cloud9 player decided to take the hero shooter for a whirl in recent broadcasts and showed off some of his signature gunslinging skills. Despite being a legitimate professional talent, he was surprisingly handed just a 2,589 skill rating. That places him at the lower Platinum level which is unremarkable in the grand scheme …
Sigma joins Overwatch roster as the game’s 31st hero
William Davis
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Overwatch has officially revealed the identity of the game’s 31st hero, and he may be the most disturbed member of the roster yet. Sigma is described as an eccentric astrophysicist obsessed with harnessing the power of gravity. His mind is warped following a tragic accident involving experimentation with a black hole, and he is then imprisoned for reasons currently unknown. Sigma is later discovered and recruited by Overwatch’s in-universe terrorist …
Overwatch developers discuss 2-2-2 lock and role queue beta season
Fariha Bhatti
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Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan has confirmed some details of the 2-2-2 lock and discussed Role Queue going live on the Public Test Region. The announcement and explanation of the new system came in a Developer Update, though initial details had been leaked earlier in the week. In the video, Kaplan discusses the benefits of a locked composition that consists of two tanks, two supports, and two DPS heroes. The …
Blizzard co-founder steps down from company after 28 years
William Davis
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Co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment Frank Pearce has retired after 28 years of service to the company he helped to build decades ago. Blizzard’s co-founder announced he was stepping down as the company’s Chief Development Officer in a statement released earlier today. Pearce thanked fellow founders Michael Morhaime and Allen Adham for the chance to create what has become one of the leading developers in the video game industry. “The time …
Overwatch hero Sigma might be leaked, and Jeff Kaplan comments
Nina Forneloza
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Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan has reacted to the potential leak regarding the next champion to be added to the game, champion 31. He cryptically addressed the leak in an interview with former Overwatch League pro player Brandon “Seagull” Larned. The leak occurred on the Twitter profile of the Mexican Overwatch World Cup team. The tweet included an image which appears to show the career stats and the spread of …
Next Overwatch patch features buffs and nerfs preparing for 2-2-2
Fariha Bhatti
News
A number of upcoming hero changes are now being tested on the Overwatch PTR server. The changes have been implemented to compliment the 2-2-2 role queue system that is due to hit live servers with patch 1.39. A total of 10 heroes have been adjusted in preparation for the new matchmaking system that will be introduced to Overwatch in the next month. Due to Brigitte’s dual nature as both a …
EFFECT discusses “final secret,” relationship with streamer Senika
Olivia Richman
News
After retiring from Dallas Fuel in April, talented DPS player Hyeon “EFFECT” Hwang opened up about mental health issues he’d been dealing with. Now, EFFECT has stated he has one final secret that’s been haunting him. On Facebook, EFFECT told his followers about his toxic relationship with streamer Lee “Senika” So-yoon, now his ex-girlfriend. According to EFFECT, the story was posted without her permission or knowledge. In the past, he claims …
Watchpoint leak reveals 2-2-2 role lock coming to OWL Stage 4
Olivia Richman
News
While awaiting the start of Stage 4, Overwatch League fans have been speculating whether or not the 2-2-2 role lock will actually be implemented. The rumor was seemingly confirmed by Chan-hyung “Fissure” Baek, who recently retired from the Seoul Dynasty. Then Twitch personality Felix “xQc” Lengyel chimed in with the same sentiment. Still, there was still no word from the Overwatch League on the possibility of a 2-2-2 role lock. But …
Overwatch League 2020 homestands venues and plans announced
Olivia Richman
News
Overwatch League senior director of partnership Jon Spector may have been quite close-lipped about the teams’ venues and tournament dates after revealing next season’s homestand weekend structure yesterday, but some teams have already announced their homestand plans. The Vancouver Titans have revealed that they’ll be competing in Rogers Arena, where they first announced the formation of the team. The large stadium is home to the Vancouver Canucks hockey team and …
Bischu, Fragi, and Kyb find new homes in Overwatch League shuffle
gabhernandez
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Professional Overwatch players Joona “Fragi” Laine, Hyung-seok “Bischu” Kim, and Finley “Kyb” Adisi have been announced on Twitter to be moving teams. The Philadelphia Fusion have traded Fragi to the Guangzhou Charge in exchange for Kyb. Fragi is a main tank player who saw a lot of action in Season 1 before Su-min “Sado” Kim made his return, and Kyb is a DPS player. Both have been on the bench …
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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