Overwatch League Set to Launch On January 10th

Blizzard used its annual BlizzCon event to announce more details on the launch of Overwatch League, including the divisions, game formats, and a new app and website. The initial twelve teams will be split into Atlantic and Pacific Divisions, with Atlantic featuring franchises from London, NY, Boston, Philly, Miami and Houston. The Pacific Division will see two LA teams, San Francisco, Dallas and the franchises from China and South Korea. League matches will be played over four days each week of the regular season, starting on January 10th. Each team will play 40 games across the season: 20 within their division, and 20 cross-division, with home and away skins developed for each franchise.

Along with the game-play details, Blizzard announced Overwatch League sponsorships with HP Inc. and Intel. “We’re thrilled to be joining forces with HP and Intel to ensure that the teams competing professionally in Overwatch are equipped with top-end technology,” said Pete Vlastelica, president & CEO of Blizzard Entertainment’s Major League Gaming division. “Multiyear collaborations such as this illustrate the momentum behind the Overwatch League as well as a long-term commitment by us and our partners in what we see as the future of esports.”

Pagebreaks Take: At $20 million per franchise, the financial viability of this league will be closely monitored.

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