As strange as it is to say, we’ve wrapped up the first season of the Overwatch League. It feels incredibly surreal to type that. I still remember the doomsday prophecies and overall bullish anecdotes coming from every angle and people still maintain their posts on either side of that metaphorical border. We finally have something to work with. With the regular season concluded and playoffs on the horizon, it’s time to take an introspective look into what the league does from here. Where can it improve or grow, all the while, peppering in some minor predictions for what the offseason might look like outside of a complete roster hurricane.

“Overwatch”

The reason why I’ve titled this section just purely “Overwatch,” is because the game still needs some major features that frankly should be commonplace these days. I have a fairly positive outlook on Overwatch as a whole, but the fact that we still are asking for the same feature two years into the game’s launch with little to no response is worrying, if I am going to be honest with you. Gamescom 2017 was a great time for many Blizzard titles, Overwatch included. We got to see the Mei animated short in its loveable glory, but one quiet interview with Overwatch star, Brandon "Seagull" Larned and principal designer, Scott Mercer, revealed a lot about what Overwatch had in the works for the spectators. In this interview, we first learned about the concept of “team colors” as well as an update and a verbal acknowledgment that the team was, in fact, working on replays. Since Gamescom 2018 is just a few months away, I thought it would be apt to bring up that we still don’t have any news or updates on when a functioning replay system will be added to the game. Replays are a huge feature not only aimed at highlighting the competitive aspects of the game but in content creation as well. Another tool that would be pivotal in content creation would be the Overwatch League’s overhead map. While teams and talent have direct access to the feature, the public still has no frame of when and if it will ever be a feature they could use. Now regardless of who was at fault with the Command Center problem, it still doubles back to the issues around communication.

Photo credit to @MoiraiOW

Quite clearly, we can see that the Command Center was supposed to give you access to the overhead map, an alternate camera angle, and other cosmetic goodies. Sadly later that same day, the post was altered to carefully omit the overhead map. Sadly, much like replays, we are left in a holding pattern with no information. Where we’ve made no ground with replays and the overhead camera, we have made some slight improvements when it comes to statistic integration from official Overwatch League matches. Now, before any of the number fiends jump down my throat, the stats that Overwatch League has provided us late into Stage 4 are lacking, but we still have a foundation built. Blizzard has been keen on stats for a while and I believe they will continue to improve that tiny little tab on the official Overwatch League website in due time. This, much like replays, allows pundits and analysts alike to have a better understanding of the game through pure numbers. The Endorsement feature, as well as the upcoming Looking For Group feature, is a much-needed facelift for the competitive ladder experience. I think these are some examples of Blizzard really understanding what the community is plagued by and is slowly, but surely, implementing changes to remedy this. Coupled with the avoid as teammate feature, Overwatch could muster up old fans and influencers in the community to come back and spend more time with the game. Last, but certainly not least, we’ve got to talk about the patching. There is no need to kick a dead horse here, as many publications have talked more in depth about this issue, but the retroactive patching has been a problem for the game and the Overwatch League. It’s a problem that should and needs to be talked about.  

Communication

I would love for Overwatch to have a “State of the Game” Address where Blizzard takes some of the major outward facing representatives for the game, puts them on a panel, and chats about some of the upcoming features and things to look forward to for Overwatch, as a game, with esports, included. When you have people like Jeff Kaplan and Scott Mercer leading the “game” side of things, I wonder: where has Overwatch League Commissioner, Nate Nanzer, been? Maybe it was just me, but I was kind of looking forward to having a very vocal representative for the esports side of things like Mercer and Kaplan have been for the game as a whole. And I mean no disrespect to Commissioner Nanzer, and I’m sure he is quite busy, but when you look at the success of the Developer Updates, I wonder if the competitive community isn’t looking for that same representation? For example: can you tell me when Overwatch League Season 2 is set to start? While I am sure we will get details around this subject in the near future, and more than likely at the Overwatch League Grand Finals, I find it odd that we know more about what cities are being looked at to join the league than when the second season starts. And with the debacle around the extremely late announcement of the Stage 4 patch, it highlights an underlying problem around specifically the esports department - communication.  

League Content Postseason

In a time where roster moves are going to be the talk of the town, having a way for fans to get a well-produced look into some of Overwatch’s greatest minds could be very successful, the same way Watchpoint has been. A continued regular stream of content gives fans a consistent source of highly produced content from reliable sources and pundits close to the league. Whether it be a news recap every week or talking about current events, content in the postseason will be pivotal in stringing along viewers through the drought. Yes, I agree that absence does make the heart grow fonder, but at the end of the day, there’s a lot of room to grow for the Overwatch League, and I’m of the school of thought that the more consistent content coming out of the Burbank Studio the better.  

Postseason Competition

While the franchise teams have gone through a grueling first season, there are still teams outside of the Overwatch League. Overwatch Contenders is an ecosystem that is in need of some much needed tender love and care in terms of viewership and monetary value. Holding an event to pit some of Contenders best talent, from around the world, with some, not all, Overwatch League franchises could be insanely beneficial to all parties involved. Both teams get a massive stage for viewers to watch them compete. The franchise teams can use this stage to flex their marketing muscle, while the Contenders teams not only get to prove themselves against some of the top talents in the world, but they also get to reach an audience they might not reach through normal means. This also gives Blizzard a chance to make a truly new event, which could mean a ton of experimentation in terms of formatting both in and out of the game. This isn’t the official league so why not try a double elimination tournament format? What’s stopping them from experimenting with a map pick and ban system for this event? The possibilities are endless and frankly, it would be a blast to watch! This also could act as a complete and utter pallet cleanser for seasoned Overwatch League fans. With something so different you get to experience and draft new narratives just like we did back in the era before the Overwatch League and I’d love to see that make a return.  

Regular Season Formatting

I’ll be frank; I’m not big on the way that the stages in the Overwatch League are being handled. If anything, apathy would be apt. When you have teams, on multiple occasions, coming out publicly and saying that they don’t really care about the Stage playoffs, which is completely understandable looking at this from a team perspective, you’ve got to question the format. Outside of an extra payday, it’s really not worth working your players to the bone. This format that does not give any benefit to winning or placing well in a stage playoff and has effectively been exploited since the beginning of the league. Case in point - the San Fransisco Shock. The Shock pretty much gave away their place during Stage 1 and that is completely fine because the system allowed it to happen in the first place. Again, fair play to the Shock, they’re working smart with their money. Their investment into young talent is commendable, but the question remains; if the Stage format would have valued the playoffs with some sort of point-based system that would have had playoff implications, would they have made that same decision?  

A Good Foot Forward

A lot of this article has been highly critical of the Overwatch League, but I write this with the best intentions possible, because I want this game, this esport, and this community to thrive. The viewership peak during Stage 1 and during the Stage 4 playoffs were incredible and should be commended The franchise model was shown some fairly early success and I don’t see that slowing down anytime soon. There are positives to be gleaned from this inaugural season, but like any feedback, it’s all about improvement at the end of the day. The Overwatch League has had a great first season, but if we are to follow a loose trajectory from other large esports models, major growth happens in year two and year three. The league cannot rest on the laurels of its first season or it will quickly be shuffled away into obscurity, which at the end of the day, is not good for esports as a whole. As a sustainable and career esport, Overwatch is not out of the woods yet but has led off with a great foot forward.

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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.