Blizzard has been teasing for months that they want to expand the Overwatch eSports league. They first teased the expansion back in February; however, details at the time were pretty sparse. Now, though, Blizzard has come forward with some more details.
Six More Overwatch Teams
German site Handelsblatt recently had an interview with Activision Blizzard eSports Leagues CEO Pete Vlastelica. There, he gave more details about the planned expansion. He said he wanted to add six more Overwatch teams. Two from the Americas, two from Asia-Pacific, and two from Europe and the Middle East. It definitely means more scope for ow boost generating companies. In the interview, he said:
“Germany plays an important role for us. This is particularly true of Berlin with its rich history of esports, founder scene, and liveliness. Add to this the demographic profile and the cultural significance of the city. We want a team in Berlin. We hold many discussions and, without being able to reveal details, we will have a team there at the latest next year.”
Stakeholder Discussions
Mr. Vlastelica also said that discussions were being had with stakeholders in a number of other countries; these being France, Spain, and Sweden. However, he didn’t give much more detail than that. One major question is how much each franchise will cost. Reports estimate that the original league cost $20 million.
However, Mr. Vlastelica declined to answer about finances. Last May, ESPN noted that Blizzard was struggling to establish teams because the fees were too high. This was unconfirmed by the company. Responding to that allegation, Mr. Vlastelica said:
“It is clear that the value of franchises in our league has increased since then.”
So far, not much else is known about the new Overwatch teams. We’ll update you as soon as more details become available. In the meantime, we’ll have to stick with the teams we have.
Source: Handelsblatt (Quotes Google Translated).