Overwatch is offering players millions to not play the game – here’s why

OVERWATCH 2 has suffered a bumpy launch, and developer Blizzard is taking desperate measures to reduce costs.

There have been significant issues which have led players waiting hours to start a game.

Fans have also complained about the outrageous price to purchase skins to customise their characters.

Even though the game is free to play, the company still makes money from fans paying high prices for the look they want.

However, there is one part of Overwatch that is desperately losing money and the company has taken a big risk hoping to plug the leak.

The Overwatch League (OWL) comprises of 19 teams that take part in competitive matches for prizes.

The original plan saw the building of stadiums to hold competitive matches, an idea that was scrapped during the pandemic.

Activision Blizzard said engagement and player investment in Overwatch 2 “declined sequentially” in the last quarter.

This has led to poor financial results, and advertisers have been stepping away from the Overwatch esports scene.

Which leads us to Blizzard’s latest final effort to save money on its investment.

Blizzard has offered the teams in OWL a new operating agreement, which they can choose to sign or not.

Those who don’t sign up will receive a $6million (£4.5million) exit fee, giving them an incentive to quit playing.

Blizzard is estimating that it will cost the company around $114million (£88million) in order to get rid of OWL.

But it seems it’s a price Blizzard is willing to pay, in order to save money on the future.

It’s unclear how the system works. We don’t yet know if the decision to leave OWL will have to be unanimous or not yet.

What we do know is that Blizzard is willing to do a lot in order to get people to stop playing its game competitively.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.