Overwatch is soon to have hometown heroes

Overwatch League has secured 12 franchises for its inaugural season that's set to launch January 10, 2018! Blizzard plans to bring esports into the limelight of mainstream entertainment in a big and unprecedented way. But it's a high-risk investment that has many concerned for its future. Will it have the popularity and watchability to amass a loyal viewership? Can it turn online viewers into arena fans?

Overwatch World Cup 2017 Group Stage: Santa Monica
The vision for Overwatch to build a “forever league” is taking shape with the announcement of the final three inaugural teams. The total number is now twelve. Similar to traditional sports, these teams are tied to cities and its players are guaranteed year-long contracts and salaries. Season One's kickoff is scheduled for January 10, 2018. Regular season matches will be held at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles and pre-season exhibition matches are set to begin on December 6thThe goal by Season Two is for teams to establish local venues, so they can host each other and travel around the world for games.

OWL timeline via Blizzard Entertainment

Initial Twelve Teams

  • Boston: Robert Kraft, owner of NFL team New England Patriots and chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group
  • New York City: Jeff Wilpon, COO of MLB team New York Mets 
  • Los Angeles: Noah Whinston, CEO of esports organization Immortals
  • Miami-Orlando: Ben Spoont, CEO and co-founder of esports organization Misfits
  • San Francisco: Andy Miller, co-owner of NBA team Sacramento Kings and founder of esports organization NRG Esports
  • London: Jack Etienne, co-founder and CEO of the esports organization Cloud9
  • Los Angeles: Stan and Josh Kroenke, a father and son duo associated with Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Rams,Colorado Avalanche, and Arsenal Football Club
  • Dallas: Mike Rufail, owner of esports organization Team EnVyUs
  • Houston: Hector Rodriguez, owner and CEO of esports organization OpTic Gaming and Neil Leibman, co-owner of MLB team Texas Rangers 
  • Philadelphia: Comcast Spectacor, telecommunications brand and owner of NHL team Philadelphia Flyers 
  • Shanghai: NetEase, a Chinese internet technology company that holds licenses in China for Blizzard games
  • Seoul: Kevin Chou, Chairman and CEO of KSV eSports
Many remain skeptical of the league's model even as non-endemic and endemic organizations are buying stake. These people view OWL as overly ambitious and some even think it's damaged the competitive community. Since its announcement, numerous esports organizations have dissolved their Overwatch teams. CompLexity Gaming, Team SoloMid, Red Reserve, Splyce, and Fnatic mentioned OWL's high buy-in fee or its effect on the tournament scene to be reasons for abandoning the game.

“If You Build It, They Will Come”?

Given our comfort with technology, people are used to and may even prefer watching live sporting events online. And why not? Viewers have the warmth of their home and the perks of a built-in bathroom and snack breaks during long intermissions. Overwatch League will need to gain enough mainstream popularity to convert online viewers into arena fans. 

The Console Disconnect

A study on millennials in the US shows a preference for PS4 over PC, while another study points out the gap between console and PC is not as large as we may think, with console users at 70% and PC at 65%. Despite these studies being a few years old, they identify that a substantial population in the US are console users. A portion undoubtedly makes up Overwatch’s player base.

Blizzard's esports arena

While some of these individuals follow esports, there are others who feel a degree of removal because of the platform difference and don’t display much enthusiasm for OWL. These people view PS4, Xbox One, and PC as their own respective communities. How many heated debates have been ignited by the opinion that Overwatch on console and PC are two very different games? Teams will require a thriving fan base to sustain themselves financially. This means users across all platforms have to unite in support for their home teams.

watchability

Overwatch esports production is still in its infancy. The audience is constantly being experimented on with capricious camera angle switches and given sporadic commentation.

As a viewer, I find the perspectives commonly used very restrictive. Casters and camera workers heavily focus big name players and DPS. Techniques like bird's-eye views or support POVs are often underutilized. These angles would allow viewers to experience map-wide strategies and team fights unfold.

POV of Zenyatta; Faze Clan vs Renegades Overwatch Contenders Season 1 via YouTube

Overwatch is a teambased shooter, so production needs to strike a balance between first and third person perspective. A lot of the game’s tension and excitement is derived from individual play. But while people want to see exceptional tracking and reaction time, they also want to see strategic positioning.

The free-floating isometric cameras provide a macro view of the gameplay, but so far have only been utilized consistently in the Overwatch’s Contenders series. Currently, the red and blue colors of teams don't correlate with who is attacking or defending. This is visually confusing, for obvious reasons. Jeff Kaplan assured us that spectator mode will have a new team colouring system, most likely by Season One’s launch.

"We need to get people to bring their kids to a really cool live experience, treating it the same way you treat a baseball game, where if you can get an eight-year-old out for one game, he becomes a fan for the rest of his life." – Nate Nanzer, League Commissioner

Spectators cheering during the Overwatch World Cup @ BlizzCon 2016
Blizzard's OWL has potential to succeed with an ambitious design to create an original ecosystem that generates long-term stability by taking the best from esports and traditional sports. The approach is unprecedented in scale and it hinges on building generational fandom successfully. Given Overwatch has, globally, more than 30 million players, this idea may not be far-fetched. Only time will tell.

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