Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: Blizzard Entertainment, entertainment, games, overwatch, Overwatch League, video games

Report Claims the Overwatch League Could Be Charging Teams $60 Million to Join in Season 2

Published Tue, 13 Feb 2018 09:45:09 -0600

by Patrick Dane

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A report has come out saying that Overwatch League's membership fee could be about to rise almost triple for any teams looking to join in Season 2.

Before the Overwatch League launched in January, news seemingly slipped out that teams had to pay around $20 million to buy a spot in the competition. For a game that doesn't have the esports history of League of Legends, Dota 2 or Counter-Strike, that is a lot. Many scoffed at the idea and worried that the league would crash and burn under its own ambitious weight. That didn't happen though. The League has been surpassing just about all expectation in terms of viewership, sponsorship, production value and even quality of games. It's been a real treat to watch.

It seems that success is going to be seeing a rather large price hike for any other teams looking to hop on the wagon in Season 2 though. Blizzard has not been shy about saying they want to expand the League, especially with more franchises in Asia and Europe, but it seems if any teams want to do so, it is going to have to put up a ton of money to get in. ESPN is reporting that the price of admission is going up to probably somewhere around $35 million, but are saying that figure could actually be as high as $60 million. That is a hefty chunk of cash.

This hike isn't out of nowhere either. The report also says that the Overwatch League is performing nearly four times better than initial projections. From team buy-ins to sponsors to merch sales, it seems the league is doing great and if new teams want some of that cheddar, they are going to have to pony up.

I've been genuinely swept up by the Overwatch League. As someone who doesn't have a long esports history, it's quite something that it has held mine, and based on viewer numbers, a whole host of others attention for so long. I hope we do see more teams join the League, especially non-American ones. Hopefully, this huge price-tag doesn't put them off though.

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