Blizzard’seSports initiative, theOverwatchLeague, could make up to $720 million a year says a new report. Announced last year, the the game’s eSports League aims to copy the NBA, the NFL, and other traditional sports leagues by establishing regional fan bases with teams in different cities.
According to a new report from investment management firm Morgan Stanley, theOverwatchLeague could make a base amount of $100 million a year. Out of 25 millionOverwatchplayers, just 72,000 would have to be “average active viewers” during the season and 7.7 million would need to tune in during the playoffs in order to reach 100 million.
Though a loftier estimate, which would depend on a “confident market,” could see the league make as much as $720 million a year. This would put it right up there with the WWE and would be a 20% higher revenue than the MLS (Major League Soccer).
In order forOverwatchdeveloper Blizzard to make that much from the eSports initiative, 32 teams would have to take part rather than 16, 75,000 viewers would have to tune in to season matches (12 million for the playoffs), and Activision would need to leverageMajor League Gaming(which it bought to create the ‘ESPN of eSports’). That’s not impossible, but it’s certainly a challenge.
At the worst case scenario, Morgan Stanley says that theOverwatchLeague will make just $20 million a year and could be written off as a “fad.” Admittedly, this seems highly unlikely given the huge interest surrounding the game and its professional players as is. For example, just several days ago, a pro player made headlines when they pulled off an incredible Reinhardt play, astounding both hardcoreOverwatchfans and even casual gamers who have only heard of Blizzard’s multiplayer shooter in passing.
Overwatchis now available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
