The Overwatch League may cease to exist in the coming weeks as the multiplayer game’s esports division undergoes significant changes. The Verge first reported on Blizzard laying off approximately 50 employees from the company’s esports department without notice and also found a tidbit about the future of the Overwatch League’s future tucked away in the company’s latest financial report.
“During the second quarter, we amended certain terms of our collaborative arrangements with team entities participating in the Overwatch League,” Blizzard said in the report. “According to the amended terms, following the conclusion of the current Overwatch League season, the teams will vote on an updated operating agreement. If the teams do not vote to continue under an updated operating agreement, a termination fee of $6 million will be payable to each participating team entity (total fee of approximately $114 million).”
The current Overwatch League season ends on Sep. 10, 2023, after the new season with story missions launches, but there’s no indication which teams might be around then or even how the league would function. Sean Miller, head of the Overwatch League at Blizzard, told The Verge that he’s optimistic about the future of esports.
“I want to be clear on one thing in particular, that Overwatch remains committed to a competitive ecosystem in 2024 and beyond, and we’re building toward a revitalized global scene that prioritizes players and fans,” Miller said.
Miller wasn’t able to say what that revitalized scene might look like, but it includes 50 fewer employees at Blizzard. One spoke anonymously with The Verge and said the layoffs came without warning, as the team was in the middle of creating new tools for Blizzard esports, tools that won’t be ready by the time the League teams vote on their future.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
