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The Overwatch League is one of the most prominent leagues in the esports circuit today. Comprising some of the best players and teams in the game, the league has been active for a while now, giving the community nail-biting matches each season.
However, as per reports, the league has suffered in revenue and plans to take legal steps to help combat its losses over the years.
Overwatch League takes legal step to bargain with Activision
According to a prominent esports journalist Jacob Wolf, multiple Overwatch League teams have come together and retained a British law firm, known as Sheridans, to help them bargain with Activision in light of the high losses incurred by the teams.
Sheridans focuses on media and technology and possesses considerable experience dealing with legal issues within the esports community. Talks have reportedly just begun, but there is no word from Activision about the same. There's no word on a lawsuit either for now, although that could happen sometime in the future.
The teams have approached the law firm to help bargain on their behalf, as Activision has repeatedly missed out on their revenue promises over the past few seasons. Not only that, the league has suffered from poor viewership, and operating costs have increased as well.
As mentioned in the report by Jacob Wolf, some teams have spent around $16 million over a period of six years. These teams are currently looking for some relief from Activision Blizzard to help them sustain themselves. While multiple esports tournaments follow the franchise format, with Valorant recently joining the fray, the cost of operating the Overwatch League isn't as high as others.
However, the franchise buy-in for Overwatch League was the highest in Season 1, with partnered teams having to pay a whopping $20 million over time. This figure was first reported by ESPN back in 2017.
Interestingly enough, the price tag went up even higher during Season 2. The conditions were never in favor of the teams, and it's understandable why they are looking to seek a legal route to help alleviate their issues. It'll be interesting to see how Activision responds to the situation. They've been dealing with many issues, including rumors about having to lay off several employees.
In 2021, Activision found itself in a tight situation with employees from Raven Software going on strike. This began after the company had announced that it would be converting 500 temporary/contractual employees to full-time employees, but 20 employees from Raven Software's QA team would have their contracts terminated.
Although the strike was called off, Activision didn't change its stance on the layoffs. However, it will reportedly provide relocation assistance and extended notice periods to the affected employees. Regarding the situation with the Overwatch League teams, it's unclear how the company will respond.
With the league's new season set to go live in Spring 2023, its future appears to be hanging in the balance.
