Less than 24 hours after the sixth and potentially final Overwatch League season came to a close, the league ops team at Activision Blizzard has provided a vague and ominous update on the future of Overwatch esports that seems to indicate a substantial change in structure and formate.
“With the completion of the 2023 Overwatch League season, we will be focusing on building our vision of a revitalized esports program,” a statement on the official OWL Twitter account reads. “We’re eager to share more with you as details are finalized.”
The statement was posted the morning after the Florida Mayhem claimed the 2023 OWL championship in the grand finals and after members of the broadcast seemingly said goodbye as they signed off on stream.
The league’s statement follows months of announcements, reports, and other statements that paint a bleak future for OWL. In July, Activision Blizzard put out a financial report that said franchise owners would vote on an “updated operating agreement” at the conclusion of the current season, with teams that vote not to continue in the league receiving a $6 million termination fee. Last month, league officials reportedly started talking to other organizers about Overwatch esports events with the vote looming.
The wording of the statement today suggests the outlook for the OWL is not great regarding participation for next year; GGRecon reported last month that two-thirds of the remaining franchises would be needed for the league to continue under the new operating agreement.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean the end of Overwatch esports as this could mark the shift to an entirely different model and structure, one that might look more similar to the open system that OW esports first used before the inception of the league. Until we know more, though, the future of OW esports is still completely up in the air.
