Overwatch League launch details announced at last

Activision-Blizzard’s long-awaited Overwatch League was announced in a media conference at the Parnas Hotel in Seoul Samsung Station. Overwatch gamers around the world have been waiting impatiently for the details of this new League.

Q3 will see the inauguration of the league

With the sun blazing down in Seoul, Nate Nanzer, the head of esports for Overwatch (OW), announced the new league to Korean media. One of the main questions asked was regarding the timeline for the league’s first season. Nanzer responded by letting people know that the season would start in the third quarter of the year. The period will be mostly spent with player acquisition and team forming, to make the league into a compact form.

Regional and local stadiums will be used

Initially, it will be held in stadiums in some of the regions, but as it grows it will be more able to be held in local stadiums. And the Grand Finals will not be part of BlizzCon, rather it will be held in a different city each year. Activision-Blizzard had previously announced the pro OW league at their BlizzCon 2016 opening, and gaming giant, Blizzard, are still pushing to make OW a top tier esport.

The main goal of the league is to become global, like other esports, which prompted the idea of city-based team systems. With very few regionally based tournaments in Korea, this idea should be of benefit to Korean teams. With no relegations being discussed once a team is included, the stability they are hoping to bring should include player salaries as well.

Global leagues like this are unprecedented

The idea of a global league of this nature is wholly unprecedented in esports. Blizzard are confident they can pull it off, however, and are giving teams their full and unlimited support. And they are adding new systems to the games to allow for tournament viewing, as well as game changes internally. OW acquired more than 20 million players within the first eight months after release, and Blizzard are hoping to rival traditional sports with their esports leagues.

Profits can be shared among the teams and owners

With the new league looking to glean profits from merchandise, broadcasting rights and ticket sales, the forecast business model is sound. The sharing of sales profits from the in-game sales has not yet been decided, but Blizzard are not ruling it out completely. However, the profits from sales of seasonal esports items and team-related items will be included.

No regional restrictions on members

They have also announced there will be a diversity allowed within teams. Although region-based, the teams will not be restricted to players from that region only. Transfers will be allowed between regions as well as nations, and Blizzard is also allowing multi-sex teams. And the team owners will have full rights over their own rosters. Team owners will be anyone who is able and willing to invest money in the OW League, and they are looking for long-term owners.