The Overwatch League is passé while the fan criticism continues. Overwatch continues to divide opinion, but has brought a windfall to developer Blizzard
For all eSports fans, it was the worst possible news: the league will be discontinued with immediate effect and replaced in the near future by a construct created by the EFG (ESLFACEIT Group).
Today, we are excited to introduce the new Overwatch Esports program and the Overwatch Champions Series!
🔗 Read our Blog https://t.co/rZ3FeYR6aL pic.twitter.com/0MKtSv3Fuf
– Overwatch Esports (@OW_Esports) January 23, 2024
Aside from this, the criticism of Overwatch and Overwatch 2 continues unabated. Fans are complaining on social media about changes that have been introduced, criticizing promised but canceled content and much more.
What basically sounds like a no-win situation for Blizzard turns out to be completely different in reality. In fact, the launch of Overwatch 2 was more than worthwhile for the developers. In a LinkedIn post, the former Vice President and Head of Global Marketing for Overwatch, Sam Saliba, talked about the figures since the release
Millions in revenue
According to him, the number of players has increased significantly once again, with over 50 million active users and a clear increase in revenue of more than 225 million US dollars – despite ongoing fan criticism.
An important reason for the increase in revenue could have been the transition to a free-2-play title. Similar to Riot Games’ products, Blizzard is increasingly focusing on cosmetic content with Overwatch 2 and regularly introduces new battle passes to entice players to buy exclusive content.