Houston Outlaws leave OWL and esports

The Overwatch competitive scene has never been at a standstill as it is now. After a disappointing season, the organization completely abandoned the Overwatch League. However, that’s not all, as they also announced the renaming of the franchise to just the Outlaws and a change of focus that leaves them completely out of esports.

The Outlaws, as is their current name, despite keeping their base in Houston, will now focus only on “content and entertainment,” which tells us that, for now, the brand is withdrawing from esports.

The Outlaws are betting on an industry that, at the moment, is well-positioned in video games, content creation, or streaming. That is why it may not be surprising that they have made this decision.

Houston Outlaws leave OWL and esports

Through a video posted on their official Twitter/X account, the Houston Outlaws announced their name change, a departure from the OWL, and a new focus.

The future of Outlaws… pic.twitter.com/JiHBPvOeGk

— Outlaws (@Outlaws) November 10, 2023

In this announcement, we see Outlaws board members Hyung-seok “Bischu” Kim and Choi “Junkbuck” Jae-won introducing the new content creators the organization will have from now on.

There is no doubt that this is truly unexpected news, considering that the Houston Outlaws played in the final of the Overwatch League 2023 against the Florida Mayhem several weeks ago. Similarly, after losing in the final, the team’s players seemed to know the organization’s future and opened the possibility of playing other esports.

However, this announcement did not go down well with the team’s fans since none of the remaining content creators in the organization are from Overwatch. This, no doubt, makes us assume that the Outlaws want to momentarily move away from Overwatch and focus on other games such as CoD, Fortnite, and VALORANT.

End of the OWL

Now, the Outlaws’ departure from the OWL is difficult for the Overwatch competitive scene, especially since, this year, Toronto Defiant and Chengdu Hunters also left.

Moreover, at the moment, the future of the Overwatch competitive scene is uncertain, as many teams have still not announced absolutely anything for the upcoming season. In addition, it was recently officially announced that the OWL is disappearing, so professional Overwatch will have to evolve in another direction in 2024.

There is no doubt that Overwatch fans and players must be really worried about the situation they are living in right now. Many may leave for other esports with nothing certain for the next season. However, we can only wait for Blizzard’s official information regarding the next OW competitive season.

Header: Outlaws | OWL