Overwatch League announces end of city-franchise model in major restructure

Blizzard Entertainment announced a fundamental restructure of the Overwatch League, effectively ending the city-based franchise model since its 2018 launch. The franchise experiment cost team owners up to $20 million in buy-in fees but did not deliver the returns promised.

The city-franchise concept was designed to build local fanbases but the esports audience proved far more global and digital-first than the model anticipated. For the broader esports industry, the OWL restructure is a cautionary tale. Overwatch competition continues in a different form. Stay up to date at EsportBet.com.