The Overwatch League is officially in its second season, with the 20 teams coming together to do battle in Blizzard Entertainment‘s popular FPS. That said, while the season continues to push forward, it’s looking like those working behind the scenes are gearing up for some massive changes in the third season. During South by Southwest, Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer announced that the league will adopt a city-based, home-and-away model in 2020, bringing it one step closer to being more like traditional sports.
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For those unfamiliar with esports, leagues are usually comprised of various teams and organizations and events are held either in one location or online. What makes the Overwatch League different since its inception is the fact that each franchise is based out of a different city. They were the first to do this, and following in their own footsteps, they will be there first to hold events in the cities where the franchises are based out of.
“It’s really taking a page out of traditional sports scheduling,” Nanzer said. “This isn’t just an important step for the Overwatch League; it’s an important step for esports. . . . You look at the esports club model where everyone is playing in a central studio or online, the business model is global sponsorships, there’s some competition there, and then monetizing content through YouTube and Twitch and other platforms.
“But if you look at the way teams drive revenue in traditional sports, it’s because they have a venue. They can sell tickets, VIP experiences and boxes and all of those things — concessions, parking, merchandise and local sponsorships — which to date have had no reason to invest in esports.”
They are looking to implement this model with the launch of the third season next year. While the goal is to get to 28 franchises in the Overwatch League, the current 20 will remain through the third season as to not add any additional risks. “It’s safe to assume that in 2020 we will launch with the 20 teams we have right now,” he said. “It’s a huge lift at the team and league level to take this step, and adding additional complexity at this point, I’m not sure it makes a ton of sense.”
As for how all of this will play out, it’s anyone’s guess at this point. While the potential revenue is certainly appealing, there are risks involved. For one, travel logistics will likely be a nightmare. Four of the 20 OWL teams are based in China, two in Europe, and one in South Korea. Of the remaining teams, while all in North America, they come from Vancouver all the way to Florida.
If the Overwatch League is able to pull this off, they’ll be doing something not even professional sports can do, which is holding out regular season events across three separate continents. Needless to say, this will be quite the ambitious endeavor for the league as a whole, but it will be interesting to see how it goes next season.
What do you think about all of this? Do you believe the Overwatch League will be able to pull off the home-and-away model next year? If so, which esports league do you think will be the first to follow suit? Sound off in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @anarkE7!
Thanks, The Washington Post!
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