Future of eSports: Overwatch League

As this journey comes to an end, and after we have discussed what eSports is, the history of eSports, the rise of eSports, and one of the most important countries to make eSports a global culture phenomenon (South Korea), it is natural for the last discussion to talk about the future of eSports

As we have talked about before, after almost twenty years of hard work, eSports has finally become part of the mainstream culture with massive viewership worldwide. But for eSports to be more acceptable to common audiences, it must move away from this online phenomenon to a more traditional sports role.

The first goal of eSports in the future will be to make sure that the major eSports events have the same amount of viewership as an NBA or NFL playoff. The second goal will be to make sure that there is a healthy professional environment for pro players to make a living out of eSports. Even though eSports events in today’s world already have substantial viewership worldwide, it is not even close to the viewership that traditional sports leagues have. One way to help increase the viewership is by aligning eSports with a traditional sports model.

Blizzard, a video game company that created the first modern competitive video game—StarCraft—that started the rise of eSports, is the same company that holds the key to the future of competitive gaming. Overwatch, a game that Blizzard released in 2016, holds the future of eSports. An outsider watching Overwatch eSports may not even think he or she is watching people play a video game. Everything in an Overwatch league is run like a traditional sports league, from the league’s organizational structure to the design of the league’s logo; from how teams play with each other to the league’s normal season and playoff season; from away games to home games. All those things are similar to how the NBA or NFL run their leagues.

It makes sense that what the Overwatch Leagues are trying to do (merging eSports with traditional sports) can help Overwatch leagues expand their viewership to people who are not gamers. Those efforts have been changing the eSports landscape. With the success of Overwatch, many other eSports—such as League of Legends and DOTA 2—have been trying to re-create their own league that matches traditional sports leagues. Also, by choosing to merge with more traditional sports leagues, an Overwatch league is the first eSports league that gives the players a basic salary, unlike other eSports events in which the players’ salaries are all based on winning tournaments.

One other positive thing that comes out of merging eSports with traditional sports leagues is that now people have someone to root for. Just like an NBA team, an Overwatch league’s team is based in a city. For example, Dallas Fuel is the Overwatch league team based in Dallas. The creation of a home city allows the fans to feel more connected with the players on the team, and it makes fans feel more connected to eSports itself.

In previous eSports events, all pro players needed to do was assemble a team, create a team name and logo, and attend tournaments. That caused fans to feel disconnected from the team, and that disconnection could lead fans to eventually feel disconnected from eSports as well. By creating the concept of a home team, the Overwatch league is likely to be successful because fans can root for the team they feel connected to.

Besides creating the concept of a home team, an Overwatch league also combines the concept of a home team with a localized eSports stadium. Besides having a home team to root for, now people can just go to the eSports stadium to watch their favorite teams play, just as football fans go to a football stadium to watch traditional sports events.

Not long ago, Dallas finished one of the biggest eSports stadiums in the United States; this past weekend, it held the first home game for an Overwatch league. Over 3,000 seats were sold out weeks before the game. Overall, Overwatch leagues were created to test the future of eSports, and as of right now, we all can agree that the Overwatch leagues are the future of eSports.

In summary, the future of eSports is its merger with traditional sports, becoming more like traditional sports and not just increasing the viewership outside of gamers but also increasing the longevity of eSports events. One way to make sure eSports does not die out is to make watching eSports events a part of people’s pastime entertainment. I hope that one day eSports is no longer considered a global cultural phenomenon and has just become part of our daily lives.

Sources:

https://blog.prototypr.io/how-overwatch-leagues-ui-is-an-esports-game-changer-9db218c0d466

https://www.heroesneverdie.com/2018/12/18/18146063/overwatch-league-season-2-2019

https://www.thelines.com/overwatch-league-blizzard-impact-esports-industry/

https://www.dexerto.com/overwatch/new-overwatch-league-twitch-feature-could-change-esports-forever-320613

http://fortune.com/2018/09/05/overwatch-league/

https://www.invenglobal.com/articles/6998/dallas-fuel-to-host-first-home-games-in-overwatch-league-history

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/sports/Largest-E-Sports-Stadium-in-US-Opening-in-Arlington-476853393.html

https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/the-arlington-esports-stadium-is-open-11377309

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