Image: Activision Blizzard
The Overwatch and Call of Duty Leagues might come to an end.
Activision Blizzard’s ongoing communications with the US Securities and Exchange Commission has led to a surprising revelation: the games publisher believes that both the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League might not last much longer.
During an overview of business trends, Activision Blizzard states in the filing:
Our collaborative arrangements for our professional esports leagues (i.e., the Overwatch League and the Call of Duty League) continue to face headwinds which are negatively impacting the operations and, potentially, the longevity of the leagues under the current business model. We continue to work to address these challenges, which could result in significant costs, and such efforts may prove unsuccessful.
It sounds like Activision Blizzard is well aware of the decline in both professional leagues, which already seems clear as day to their fans. The Overwatch League was a much bigger event back in its first year, 2016, but the game it was being played on was already starting to wind down. Each successive year of the league brought about a slow decline of content and fans for the game, and even the release of Overwatch 2 is unlikely to bring the league back to its greatest heights.
The Call of Duty League hasn’t been much more successful either, though the opening weekend of its 2023 season saw record-breaking viewership numbers. The 2023 season will culminate in the Call of Duty Championship tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, where teams will compete on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
While the filing hints that Activision Blizzard is facing diminishing returns in both these leagues and might consider shutting things down, Overwatch League head Sean Miller reassures fans that the opposite is true. In a statement to Dexerto, Miller said that the Overwatch League is, “not going away anytime soon,” and Blizzard is, “committed to Overwatch esports and growing a community.”
