10 Things Blizzard Want You To Forget
4. Pricing Established ESports Teams Out Of Overwatch League
ESports is big business. The rise of Dota 2, CS: GO and League Of Legends profile and prize pools throughout the last few years is astronomical.
It makes sense then, for Blizzard to target this blossoming eSports market with Overwatch. The creation of a much more traditional league system, emulating more established sports was a masterstroke. When it came to purchasing team slots, however, Blizzard leaned too heavily into traditional sports.
Almost as soon as The Overwatch League was announced, established eSports teams like Red Reserve, Splyce and SoloMid were soon dropping their Overwatch teams, with the latter quoting that the league was "too damn expensive". They were not wrong.
Franchising costs for The Overwatch League were nearly 20 times higher than League Of Legends at an eye-watering $20 million, aiming to attract big business owners like the Kraft Group.
In gunning for the whales, Blizzard priced out established eSports teams that had helped push Overwatch's popularity to the point where there could even be a league. Blizzard chased the money and doing so punished teams that have significantly smaller budgets and other leagues to participate in.