Overwatch League to Kick off in Less Than Two Months
Esports, like other sports, has a time and season. And one of the esports seasons that is coming right along, among others, is the Overwatch League, where people try to be the best for the championship crown.
But there seems to be a hiccup in the works. For, while the League is due to start in seven weeks, making it a little less than two months away, there is currently no sponsorship for the League itself.
While Activision Blizzard claims that there are “ongoing discussions”, there have been no major sponsors since the original harassment suit was filed on July 21, 2021. Meaning, that the former sponsors that came from Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, State Farm, etc, have backed off since then, and have yet to renew their sponsorship, despite the upcoming season and up talking of a large live event.
Moreover, Washington Post reported that none of these major sponsors plan to restart advertisement or sponsorship deals in 2022. And too, the once official internet provider Comcast, who also owns the Overwatch League team, Philadelphia Fusion, states that they will not be sponsoring the League either.
The new and current head of the Overwatch League, Sean Miller, clarified that there is a search and discussion with former and possibly new sponsorship for the League, despite the lack of any on the official website.
Despite the news of the first live event coming for the Overwatch League since 2020 though, there have been no signs of the League’s promotion. This could be due to the harassment suits as filed by the government, the lack of Overwatch 2 release, or a mixture of both, with emphasis on one or the other.
Either way, it seems that time is running out for Activision Blizzard to get any sort of help when it comes to promotion from their League from other sources.