Blizzard announces a major Overwatch League restructure, ending the city-franchise model that defined the competition since its 2018 launch.
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.
Mark Prezelj
Esports Betting Analyst
Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.
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