Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in global eSports. In the course of BlizzCon, rumors became public that the desert state now also wants to get involved in Overwatch
For the first time since 2019, fans were able to attend BlizzCon in Anaheim, California, at the weekend. After the takeover by Microsoft, they expected big words from Xbox CEO Phil Spencer and news about Warcraft and Diablo. There was also the Overwatch World Cup, which could have been the last Overwatch event under the direction of Blizzard for the time being. Another acquisition by the Saudi Savvy Games Group is on the horizon.
At least that’s what investigative journalist Jacob Wolf reported at the weekend. According to him, the ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) is the most likely candidate to take over the Overwatch League. This is made possible by the “unrivaled level of resources” that can be traced back to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and the Savvy Games Group, of which ESL has been a member since 2022. In addition, there is already a direct connection via “Esports Engine”. The US production company has been part of the EFG portfolio since March and manages the call-of-duty equivalent of the Overwatch League.
Negotiations already underway?
But why is there speculation about a takeover by EFG in the first place? According to Wolf’s sources “at the developer and participating eSports organizations”, a vote is currently underway among the 20 teams on the dissolution of the Overwatch League. Blizzard seems to be expecting a clear result. Initial negotiations between the organizer and the EFG had already taken place before the call for a vote. In addition, the studio is already making preparations to work together with the EFG.
The reason for the vote is an ongoing dispute between the organizations and Blizzard. The great ambitions that the studio had when introducing the league never became reality. Instead, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic, a competition developed in which the participants did one thing above all else: Lose money
Farewell payouts
In January, the dispute between the organizers and participants finally escalated. The 20 teams had jointly engaged a law firm to take action against the lack of revenue announced by Blizzard. The result of the ensuing negotiations was a deal under which each team would be entitled to a one-off compensation payment of six million US dollars if they left the league. This is probably one of the reasons why Blizzard seems so certain about the outcome of the vote, which according to Wolf has not yet been finalized.
What exactly a cooperation between Blizzard and the EFG would mean for Overwatch eSports is still unclear, however. The future of the franchises, some of which have already withdrawn from eSports as far as possible, is also still up in the air. However, Wolf believes it is likely that the idea of franchises will be scrapped altogether and a return to an open system will take place. Such a system already existed before the introduction of the franchise league. However, it is doubtful whether this alone will be enough to revive eSports, which has been on the brink of collapse.
