Overwatch
News
Overwatch Cosplay Battle finalists celebrate creativity and pride
Olivia Richman
Cosplay and fan art have always been a big part of the Overwatch fandom, and now Blizzard is recognizing some of the best cosplayers in the world. The Overwatch Cosplay Battle has six teams of three cosplayers each competing in a three-month rush to create the best Overwatch cosplays. The teams come from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Russia. According to the contest’s official home page, this …
News
Philadelphia Fusion to open local esports arena, CFO discusses plans
gabhernandez
The Philadelphia Fusion is the first team to announce a new dedicated sports arena for its Overwatch League team. The arena is set to be completed in January 2021, with construction starting in September of this year. Construction should end around December 2020 to prepare the facility for the fourth season of Overwatch League in February 2021. In the meantime, the team will compete at an existing location in the …
News
Vancouver Titans crowned OWL Stage 1 champions after close final
Olivia Richman
The Vancouver Titans are the Overwatch League Stage 1 champions, defeating San Francisco Shock 4-3. The expansion team finished Stage 1 undefeated. “I am the happiest man alive,” Sang-beom “Bumper” Park said. The epic seven-game series was surprisingly close. San Francisco Shock took the first map, Nepal, 2-1. Then the Vancouver Titans came back with a 1-0 win on Numbani. The back-and-forth match became closer than ever on Temple of …
News
Team Liquid launches new tribute to the late INTERNETHULK
William Davis
Team Liquid has launched a bio website for former Overwatch coach Dennis “INTERNETHULK” Hawelka on the late player’s birthday. The bio, titled “The Crusader Stands Watch,” tells his story from the perspective of his family and close friends. INTERNETHULK was a former grandmaster Terran player in Starcraft 2 and a Challenger ranked player in League of Legends before he made his transition to Overwatch. He was a founding member of …
News
Defending champion NYXL upset in huge OWL playoff shocker
Olivia Richman
Nobody could have predicted that Seoul Dynasty would crush New York Excelsior in the playoffs. That’s exactly what they did, defeating the team that all Overwatch League analysts had confidently voted for, and that fans had figured to have it in the bag. “It feels really great. We defeated London Spitfire, and now NYXL. This was our first ever time in the playoffs and these were both teams we couldn’t …
News
OWL analysts are unanimous in their predictions for OWL Stage 1 champion
Olivia Richman
The Overwatch League Stage 1 playoffs are upon us, and the winner will be crowned come March 24. OWL analysts have unanimously predicted that the New York Excelsior will continue to dominate and emerge as Stage 1 champions. The seven analysts also predicted that the final match for the NYXL will be against expansion team Vancouver Titans. This leaves the Philadelphia Fusion, Toronto Defiant, Atlanta Reign, and San Francisco Shock …
News
New rules, regulations announced for Stage 2 of 2019 Overwatch League
Steven Rondina
The Overwatch League Stage 1 playoffs kick off soon, but fans have some fun new additions to look forward to for Stage 2. The rules and regulations for the next stage of the 2019 season were revealed on the official OWL website. The changes will hit a number of different fronts, introducing a new patch, a new schedule, and a fresh lineup of maps. The biggest change will come with …
News
Overwatch League celebrates GOATS meta with two live goats
Olivia Richman
As if Overwatch League fans weren’t complaining about the amount of GOATS on stage already, a recent Watchpoint pre-show introduced two more to worry about. The live goats, Lucio and Brigitte, didn’t seem too amused either, reluctant to walk through the boisterous and cheering crowd. Before the special guests were announced, Overwatch League analysts and commentators discussed the history of GOATS. Popularized by a Contenders team with the same name, …
Boston Uprising owner Robert Kraft refuses plea in sex traffic case
Olivia Richman
News
Boston Uprising owner Robert Kraft turned down a plea deal offered by Florida prosecutors after he was charged with soliciting prostitution at a massage parlor. It was confirmed earlier this week that the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office had offered to drop charges leveled against Robert Kraft and 24 other men involved in the sex trafficking sting should they concede that they would be found guilty if tried in …
Fanatics reveal most popular Overwatch League jerseys for Stage 1
Fariha Bhatti
News
Apparel manufacturer Fanatics has revealed the most popular purchased jerseys from the Overwatch League since the start of Season 2’s first stage. The announcement revealed seven replica player jerseys across six of the 20 teams competing in the 2019 season. The most frequently sold item is the jersey for Atlanta Reign player Daniel “Dafran” Francesca. A popular streamer who joined the league for Season 2, it seems as though Dafran’s …
ADO gets first Overwatch League victory, breaks 0-37 record
Olivia Richman
News
Washington Justice DPS specialist Gihyeon “ADO” Chon finally broke his 0-37 losing streak. The expansion Justice defeated Florida Mayhem in their final match of the Overwatch League’s first stage, leaving the squad with a 1-6 record. Washington is now tied with Florida Mayhem in the standings. The Los Angeles Valiant are right behind them in last place, having failed to get a single win so far. While it did take …
Overwatch League will have full home-and-away schedule in 2020
Olivia Richman
News
Overwatch League will have a full home-and-away schedule in 2020, fulfilling the league’s day one vision. The full schedule, venues, and ticket information are not yet available to fans, but commissioner Nate Nanzer said it will be similar to a traditional sports league, with each team playing half of its games at home and half on the road. Running from mid-February through August, the third season boasts home games in …
NYXL, Titans top teams headed to the Stage 1 OWL playoffs for Season 2
Fariha Bhatti
News
With the completion of the Overwatch League’s fifth week of matches, eight teams have now qualified for the Stage 1 Playoffs of Season 2. The top eight teams in the standings will now have the chance to compete for a first-place prize of $200,000 before the season’s continuation and the start of Stage 2. To qualify for a slot in the Stage 1 Playoffs, teams had to be the highest …
Overwatch League analyst Sideshow trashes Houston Outlaws
Olivia Richman
News
The Overwatch League never has a shortage of drama. Analyst Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson started his own drama with the Houston Outlaws, calling the team “straight garbo.” On March 9, Sideshow made the pregame prediction that the Los Angeles Valiant would get its first win of the season against the Houston Outlaws. When the Outlaws ended up winning, the team took to Twitter to make a highlight reel of the most …
New hero Baptiste prepares to hit live servers on March 19
gabhernandez
News
The newest hero in Overwatch is coming out of PTR testing and is hitting live servers. Blizzard announced on Twitter that support hero Baptiste would be arriving for live play on March 19. Baptiste was announced a few weeks ago via a short video and a lore letter giving context to the character’s background on Blizzard’s website. Jean-Baptiste Augustin is a combat medic who used to run with the Talon …
ESPN Events announces Collegiate Esports Championship
Olivia Richman
News
ESPN Events has announced its ESPN Collegiate Esports Championship. Hosted by Tespa and the Collegiate StarLeague, hundreds of North American colleges will compete in qualifiers for the chance to compete at a live championship in Houston come May. It’s a clear attempt by ESPN Events’ to make a further push into the esports industry while it’s still relatively early in the game. “We are proud to be providing a platform …
Boston Uprising owner Robert Kraft arraignment set for March 28
Olivia Richman
News
After being accused of soliciting prostitution in February, Boston Uprising owner Robert Kraft’s arraignment will be on March 28. The date was moved a few days back so as not to interfere with the NFL’s annual owners’ meetings. That doesn’t seem to be the only form of leniency for Kraft going into the arraignment. While court papers state that the defendant must be present at the hearing, Kraft announced that …
Los Angeles Valiant part with head coach early in Season 2
William Davis
News
The Los Angeles Valiant will replace the team’s coach after a slow start in Overwatch League’s second season. Valiant head coach Byungchul Moon has been relieved of his duties as coach before the completion of the new season’s first stage. A statement from Valiant general manager Michael Schwartz was short and complimentary towards Moon. “We want to thank Coach Moon for his contributions to the Pacific Division and Stage 4 …
Shanghai Dragons taunt way to victory over London Spitfire
Olivia Richman
News
There may be no Overwatch League moment more iconic than the Shanghai Dragon’s Jin-hyeok “DDing” Yang teabagging on the payload as it reaches its next point uncontested. To add insult to injury, the London Spitfire lost the map featuring DDing’s taunt 0-3, and ultimately fell to the Dragons 3-2 in one of the most exciting matches of Season 2. It was hard to not write off this matchup as an …
Overwatch League celebrates International Women’s Day
Olivia Richman
News
The esports industry took a big interest in International Women’s Day, choosing to highlight all of the female employees that help run various esports organizations and put together live events. The Overwatch League took to Twitter to share its #BalanceForBetter support. An accompanying video shined a spotlight on the women that make the Overwatch League possible, from work behind the scenes at the Blizzard Arena to the women who help …
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.
