Microsoft’s acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard may be off to an expensive start with the tech giant likely to foot the $120 million bill for the dissolution of the Overwatch<\/em> League\u2014should the vote to shut down the league be passed.<\/p>
First reported in July 2023 following a spate of layoffs at the company and uncertainty over the league’s future<\/a>, Blizzard opted to allow the 20 OWL team owners to vote on an updated operating agreement. <\/p>
However, after conferring with organizations through the previous months, each and every team is set to discontinue participation, according to journalist Jacob Wolf in a Nov. 3 report<\/a>.<\/p>
The result of such a vote? Each franchise that opts out of Blizzard’s plans to continue the OWL<\/a> will receive a $6 million termination payout, and while it won’t cover what each team laid out to enter and stay in the league, it’s proving to be too sweet of a deal to pass up.<\/p>
The vote’s result, expected in the coming weeks, comes a month after Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard was finally greenlit<\/a> after months of negotiations stalled the purchase of the company.<\/p>
Activision Blizzard had already waived the bulk of the remaining franchise fees<\/a> teams still owed in June, which softened the economic blow significantly. Nevertheless, it’s a sad and sorry end to Overwatch<\/em> esports as we know it, for now.<\/p>
The COVID-19 pandemic and the frosty reception to Overwatch 2<\/em><\/a> proved the final nails in the coffin for the OWL, which had been in steady decline since its inception in 2017. Between sharp drop-offs in viewership<\/a>, the departure of major sponsors<\/a>, an expansion into gambling and alcohol advertisement<\/a>, and anger from teams who invested millions<\/a> for little gain, the OWL in its current form has not satisfied any relevant party.<\/p>
At the very least, Overwatch’s<\/em> current era went out with a bang as 318,780 tuned in to watch Saudi Arabia shock China in the Overwatch<\/em> World Cup grand final, according to viewership stats site Esports Charts<\/a>. It’s the highest peak for an OWWC since 2017, indicating interest in the esport is still high and that, with the right management, Overwatch<\/em> esports can still survive.<\/p>
