Report: OWL teams to press charges against Blizzard

The Overwatch League was famous in recent years for being the centerpiece of Blizzard Entertainment’s competitive scene and serving as its primary global FPS market circuit, much like Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege or Riot Games’ VALORANT.

However, numerous management-related controversies hampered the Californian company’s exponential expansion over time, as evidenced by the significant loss of sponsors in its most recent seasons, including Coca-Cola, Pringles, and T-Mobile.

While it was unclear to what extent this affected franchised teams and their players, we now know more about what might be happening because all indications are that they are preparing to file a class-action lawsuit against the creator of Overwatch 2.

Teams Allegedly Receiving False Promises from Activision Blizzard

According to a report by writer Jacob Wolf, most of the teams in the Overwatch League have reportedly hired a British law firm to initiate collective bargaining proceedings. So finally, after several years of high operating costs and repeated broken revenue promises from Activision Blizzard, it has happened.

Sources connected to Wolf say that renowned law firm Sheridans, which has extensive expertise in traditional sports and esports, will handle the lawsuit.

Organization for demand

OverActive Media, the ownership group behind Toronto Defiant, lead the decision to organize collectively. This group previously worked with Sheridans on matters related to the MAD Lions.

Negotiations between the teams, law firm, and Activision Blizzard have just begun, so tensions are high as proposals for 2023 are evaluated.

After each franchise paid between $8.5 and $11 MDD to maintain the fee and ongoing expenses for the previous six years, the goal is for clubs to receive some incentive to encourage sustainability. For some, that means spending more than $16 MDD on a league with low viewership and no chance of success.

We can also include recent statements from club leaders, such as the COO of parent company Houston Outlaws, Lori Burgess, who came clean about her Overwatch League squad’s profit and loss in an interview.

Lori Burgess noted:

“The team pays some of its players over $200,000 per year in salaries and, despite the $1.4 MDD they receive in revenue, coming primarily from ad sales, the team still operates at a loss.”

Similarly, Misfits Gaming CEO and Florida Mayhem owner Ben Spoont commented:

“We were certainly told that the growth of these leagues would be meteoric, and we all drank the Kool-Aid. What has happened is that the growth has not materialized as quickly as we had hoped.”

We must wait to see how this fierce dispute between Overwatch 2’s direct competition and its developer plays out. Unfortunately, the developer is rudderless after losing its sponsors and not having a guaranteed platform to broadcast its next season.

Header: Activision Blizzard