Overwatch
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Blizzard black friday sale includes big discounts on esports titles, apparel
gabhernandez
The Blizzard shop has extended the company’s Black Friday sale, offering discounts as great as 75% off for some of Blizzard’s biggest games. In a tab marked “Black Friday,” users can now shop items marked at between 30-75% off their regular price in the Blizzard store. A variety of items including pins, shirts, vinyl figures, Overwatch League merchandise, character leggings, hats, and more can be found for reduced prices. All …
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Three OWL teams tease and reveal new signings
Steven Rondina
The rollercoaster ride of the Overwatch League offseason has taken another turn as three teams unveiled new signings using the same set of mysterious emojis. The teams in question are Florida Mayhem, London Spitfire, and Seoul Dynasty. Florida Mayhem was the first tweet out the cryptic message on the afternoon of October 11. London Spitfire quickly followed suit, and Seoul Dynasty did the same in the evening. While the initial …
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New viewing tools finally come to Overwatch
gabhernandez
A long requested tool to watch competitive Overwatch games through the eyes of pro players has finally been released to fans just in time for the World Cup finals. “Experience the Overwatch World Cup from any perspective in real time with the Overwatch World Cup Viewer,” says the official blog post about the new observing tool. Fans have been waiting for this functionality since the very conception of competitive Overwatch, …
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Blizzard and Nerf team up for Overwatch Nerf guns
Fariha Bhatti
Blizzard has teamed up with toy company Hasbro to create a line of Nerf replicas of some of the Overwatch’s most iconic weapons. Two different ranges of Nerf Gun, the Rivals line and the Micro Shots line, were revealed during the ‘Blizzard Gear: Past, Present and Future’ panel at Blizzcon. According to Hasbro, the Nerf Micro-Shots are intended for a younger demographic, as they are “super miniature” versions of the …
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South Korea wins Overwatch World Cup, again
William Davis
South Korea has won the Overwatch World Cup 2018 after demolishing China in a 4-0 victory. The Korean team looked confident as they sat down to play the World Cup final against their Chinese opponents. The squad had held the title of World Cup champions for two consecutive years and they were prepared to make this their third. Game one began on Ilios. Korea proved themselves the dominant force as …
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Blizzard reveals new overwatch hero Ashe
William Davis
A new hero is coming to Overwatch and is bringing with her a special friend. Blizzard revealed the 29th hero to join the game’s roster during a cinematic at BlizzCon 2018’s opening ceremony. Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe is the leader of a dangerous band of outlaws known as the Deadlock Gang. She is a western-themed hero similar to McCree, and will be joining the DPS class of heroes. Ashe’s kit includes …
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Halloween Terror returns to Overwatch
Fariha Bhatti
The latest update to Overwatch has started this year’s Halloween Terror event, bringing the return of the Junkenstien’s Revenge game mode and a variety of new cosmetics. This year, nine new skins have have been introduced for the event, with six being legendary and three being epic. The legendary skins in particular are very detailed this year, with Doomfist’s swamp wonster skin making water splashes when he walks. Pharah has …
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Paris OWL team announce new roster
gabhernandez
The Paris Overwatch League team announced their entire roster for the team’s debut league debut. Paris is the first of the expansion teams to reveal their full line-up of players for the franchise’s inaugural season. The team opted for a full western roster, and is the second team to be based in Europe along with the London Spitfire. The full roster includes: Terrence “SoOn” Tarlier – DPS George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha …
Overwatch patch changes Mercy, Roadhog, and more
Fariha Bhatti
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A new Overwatch patch is aiming to change to change the strength of some of the game’s most popular heroes. PTR patch 1.30 focuses on a number of hero buffs to try and balance each of them and bring them in line with the strength of the remaining hero roster. As the patch is only on the PTR server, it’s unavailable for console users. Mercy’s ultimate cost has been reduced …
Shanghai Dragons recruit six new players
gabhernandez
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Shanghai Dragons have found their replacements for the next season of the Overwatch League. After a previous announcement that Shanghai Dragons were releasing six players from the team’s roster, the organization has said on Twitter that it will be signing six new players to its roster ahead of season two. The new players that will be joining the Dragons for season two are: Min-seong “diem” Bae, Jin-hyeok “DDing” Yang, Young-jin …
Seoul Dynasty sign four new players
gabhernandez
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The Seoul Dynasty have signed four new players to their roster ahead of season two of the Overwatch League. Off-tank Choi “Michelle” Min Hyuk, main tank Hwang “Marve1” Min Seo, and Lee “Jesce” Seung Soo were the three players added to the team. Coach Lee “WhyNot” Juhyeop was also announced to be joining. Earlier in the offseason the Dynasty released three players: Gong “Miro” Jin-hyeok, Moon “Gido” Gi-do, and Choi …
Valiant transfer Soon, two coaches
gabhernandez
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The Los Angeles Valiant have announced three releases prior to the Overwatch League’s second season. The team announced that the three individuals were transferring to new teams. Terence “SoOn” Tarlier and assistant coach Julien “Daemon” Ducros are being traded to a franchise to be announced later, and assistant coach Jordan “Gunba” Graham will be joining the Boston Uprising. Coach Daemon and Gunba were integral parts to the Valiant’s success in …
Fusion trade HOTBA
gabhernandez
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The Philadelphia Fusion have announced that Hong-Jun “HOTBA” Choi has been traded to Guangzhou, one of the new expansion teams for season two of the Overwatch League. Known as an off tank, HOTBA’s D.VA and Zarya are his most effective characters. His switch to Tracer in map four of the first quarterfinal against the Boston Uprising is hailed as one of the most surprising moments during the first season’s playoffs. …
Brad returns to OWL as head coach of ATL
Steven Rondina
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The Atlanta Reign announced its roster for Season 2 of the Overwatch League, and a familiar face will be at the helm. Brad “sephy” Rajani will be the head coach of Atlanta’s newly announced Overwatch League team. Rajani’s coaching staff will be rounded out by assistant coach Dimitri “Silence” Couturet, player development coach Cas “Casores” Van Andel, and data analyst Danny “Danny” Mychakov. Rajani was most recently in the Overwatch …
Torbjorn rework highlights new OW patch
Fariha Bhatti
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A new Overwatch patch is now live, bringing with it hero balance changes including a complete rework for Torbjörn and a change in how Pharah plays. The rework to Torbjörn has arrived with Patch 1.29. As there is no longer a defense hero category, developers thought Torbjörn wasn’t as adaptable as the game’s other heroes. In order to make him feel viable in more situations, his defensive capabilities have been …
Overwatch League Season 2 details released
Fariha Bhatti
News
Blizzard has announced the start of the next Overwatch League season as well as future season changes. The Overwatch League is now set to return to the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles on February 14, 2019. The new season will include the latest expansion teams for a total of 20 squads, with matches being organised to allow players more breaks between games. The format for season two will see each …
Former London Spitfire Support Closer Joins Dallas Fuel
Steven Rondina
News
Dallas Fuel has signed its first new player for Season 2 of the Overwatch League. Jung “Closer” Won-sik is coming off an Overwatch League Championship with London Spitfire, where he was the substitute for flex support Choi “Bdosin” Seung-tae. He will be the third support player on Dallas Fuel’s roster, along with Benjamin “uNKOE” Chevasson and Jonathan “Harryhook” Tejedor Rua. In an announcement video on the team’s twitter, Dallas Fuel …
Details announced for Overwatch League’s second season
gabhernandez
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The Overwatch League announced structure details and dates important to the 2019 season. February 14 is the date that the Overwatch League will kick off season two with the expanded roster of 20 teams. Eight new teams have joined the league and have been split into the Atlantic and Pacific Divisions. The Atlantic Division brings on Paris, Atlanta, and Washington D.C. The Pacific Division adds Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Vancouver. …
Terrors and skins await in Overwatch Halloween event
gabhernandez
News
New epic and legendary skins for Overwatch have been revealed ahead of this year’s Halloween Terror event. The official Overwatch Twitter account has revealed some of the epic and legendary skins to be made available, including Enchanted Armor Pharah, Jack-O-Lantern Wrecking Ball, Undead McCree, Banshee Moira, Spider Widowmaker, and Swamp Monster Doomfist. Along with these skins, Jeff Kaplan has also alluded to new spooky areas and a potential Bride for …
Philadelphia Fusion bring in new coaching staff
gabhernandez
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The Philadelphia Fusion have announced that Elliot “Hayes” Hayes and Se-Hwi “NamedHwi” Go are to be head coaches of the team next season. The Fusion, coming off a roller coaster of a season, have made the first changes to their staff by announcing that the pair of former assistant coaches will be moving to head coaching roles. NamedHwi was described as the primary Korean coach, wihile Hayes was described as …
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.
