To whom it may concern,

As a long time Starcraft 2 fan, personally, I am enthralled with the idea that I can directly influence the prize pool of one of the largest tournaments of the year as well as support the infrastructure around it. The concept of crowdfunding has been on the tongue of the community for years now, and to finally see Blizzard enact the plan has been a breath of fresh air. Not only do you get to directly support players by adding to the prize pool, but it shows investors that people are interested in the game and you get some awesome rewards on top of that. For all the story buffs, you get an amazing comic detailing the continuing story of Starcraft as well as in-game features like skins, sprays, and icons.

This feature is called the “War Chest” and its conception could be pivotal in how Blizzard Esports succeeds in Starcraft moving forward as well as other its other titles -- namely, Overwatch.

With the Overwatch League slowly starting to ignite, winds from a different Blizzard Esports title have started to kick up in an interesting way. The world could always use more heroes and you could be one too. What if I told you it would only cost you a few dollars, and you’d be able to help support your favorite Overwatch team -- sponsored or not? What if I told you that Blizzard has just launched a crowdfunding feature for Starcraft 2 that is almost perfect for Overwatch?

The War Chest, as a concept, is a nearly perfect fit to be an amazing crowd funding tool for Starcraft 2 and for many of Blizzard’s other esports titles. However, there are some odd downsides to the “War Chest” conceptually. It’s speculated that some of the rewards are time gated through an experience system that you earn through playing the game. This concept has gotten many people worried and the Starcraft community have definitely shared their opinion this, but opening the floodgates to engage communities to better support their favorite esports titles and teams is something I am all for.

Some of these rewards could vary from allowing people more interested in lore to find out more of each character's backstory with mini-comics beautifully illustrated and written by Blizzard artists. Having an amazing Immortals McCree skin could introduce a more casually fan base to esports under the Immortals umbrella, or any esport organization for that matter. The possibilities are endless, and an Overwatch “War Chest” feature could be exactly what Blizzard was referencing when they spoke in their press release as the first seven Overwatch League teams were announced.

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“We’re keen on making sure that teams will be able to share in the Overwatch League’s overall financial success and be rewarded for investing in their home cities. With that in mind, teams will all receive an equal share of net revenues from league-wide advertising, ticketing, and broadcast rights deals; at the same time, they will keep all local revenues up to a set amount each year (past that amount, a portion of the local revenues will go back into the league-wide shared pool for teams). Overwatch players will be able to support the collective teams via special in-game items, as 50% of the revenues from these items will flow into the shared revenue pool. These arrangements will help ensure that teams have the resources to establish and grow their local Overwatch communities for years to come.”

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The War Chest for Starcraft 2 is the start of what could be a watershed moment for Blizzard. Having an Overwatch “War Chest” or any form of crowdfunding could help bolster support and give teams direct metrics to help them with their show sponsors and investors that people are interested in the brand they support and that people are seeing the product. Not only that, but who wouldn’t want a Seagull NRG spray or a Cloud9 Reinhardt skin? If CS:GO players will buy stickers to put on their guns with their favorite pro-player’s autograph then I am positive that the Overwatch community would buy these cosmetic items. I am not the only person that has thought about this, Immortal’s own Christopher "GrimReality" Schaefer has spoken about this publicly on Twitter.

The want and desire are there. These brands and teams that people have followed throughout modern esports have gigantic fan bases that want to help support their favorite teams. Even for the more casual viewer base, an amazing skin “could” be the entrance to an ecosystem undiscovered by those who have shied away from competitive Overwatch. Many people don’t play ranked in League of Legends, but they have at least heard of SK Telecom. Communities all across esports have spoken loud and clear when it comes to crowdfunding. Look no further than Dota 2’s The International series as proof of what the passionate community of one game can do for its players.

2013 was the first year that Valve and The International partnered up to create the Compendium, an in-game item that directly supplemented the prize pool of The International. According to Dota 2.prizetrac, the 2017 edition of the Compendium and other crowd funding items have amassed an astounding 1245.01% increase to the prize pool! This has built up to be a whopping and jaw dropping 21,520,169 career defining dollars in prize money at The International 2017. Am I saying that Overwatch will instantly be able to obtain these kinds of numbers through crowdfunding? No, but what this does show is that this model has some form of success.

For example, if all goes well, Blizzard could full throttle and implement the idea concept of crowdfunding for the Overwatch Contenders league. From my understanding, this is supposed to be the developmental league to help “feed” into the main league, the Overwatch League. If teams make the cut to be signed to the developmental league then maybe we could help these teams with a smaller cut of the same crowd funding? These teams might not be able to stay afloat without some sort of supplementary support. My humble suggestion is that green lighting the crowdfunding for Overwatch Contenders would be instrumental in showing the community that these teams have not been forgotten. Just because their organization, or lack thereof, doesn’t have the investment doesn’t mean that people do not have any less desire to support them.

The idea is there, it just needs to be repurposed and tweaked a bit to fit the criteria suited for Overwatch. With more news to come with Overwatch League looming above us, I am sure we’re in for some treats. As we exit in infancy stages of Overwatch Esports, I am exhilarated for the future of Overwatch and the Overwatch League. Opening an avenue of support through crowd funding for the best selling PC of all time might not be a bad idea. Engaging the tens of thousands of audience members and spectators a way to directly show support for their favorite players and teams would be amazing.

If the Overwatch League is “our league”, then let the community help in supporting it.

Signed,

a hopeful fan and excited writer.

Joseph “Volamel” Franco has followed esports since the MLG’s of 2006. He started out primarily following Starcraft 2, Halo 3, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. He has transitioned from viewer to journalist and writes freelance primarily about Overwatch and League of Legends. If you would like to know more or follow his thoughts on esports you can follow him at @Volamel.

Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment and Valve/Dota 2.