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The Overwatch League was one of Activision Blizzard’s biggest drivers for growth this quarter

The Overwatch League was one of Activision Blizzard’s biggest drivers for growth this quarter

The Overwatch League’s “over-performance” was one of Activision Blizzard’s key performance drivers for Q3 2018.

During a call with investors handily transcribed by SeekingAlpha, the publisher said that it was able to sell 16 new franchises at a “significantly higher” value thanks to the success of the League’s first season. In the Overwatch League's first year, teams cost a whopping $20m. 

“We are further strengthening our leadership position in esports,” said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

“Having now sold 20 teams globally to the Overwatch League at substantially higher prices because of league financial over-performance versus our original plans, and the energy that was brought through the first season of the league by our new owners.”

One of those new teams is Paris Eternal, which unveiled its name and branding to the public yesterday. The announcement lends credence to a leak that named five new Overwatch team brands, one of which being Paris.

The Overwatch League was named as one of Activision Blizzard’s four key drivers in growth for the quarter, alongside mobile expansion and ongoing live services. The publisher is actively looking at ways to export the model to its other IPs.

President and COO Collister Johnson added: “Overwatch League is already well into planning its second season, and we are actively advancing how the league model and infrastructure will be applied to Call of Duty and other franchises”

Activision has already floated plans to sell franchises for a Call of Duty league. Blizzard, meanwhile, is taking a more player-focused approach with the model in its Korea Starcraft Remastered League.


Staff Writer

Natalie Clayton is an Edinburgh-based freelance writer and game developer. Besides PCGamesInsider and Pocketgamer.biz, she's written across the games media landscape and was named in the 2018 GamesIndustry.biz 100 Rising Star list.