Industry 
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Jeff Kaplan leaves Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment announced today that its Overwatch director and long-standing face of the game, Jeff Kaplan, will leave the company. In his place, Aaron Keller, Blizzard veteran and Overwatch founding member will step up as the new game director. Help us thank Jeff Kaplan for being the Mercy to our Genji. Thank you for always […]
Blizzard layoffs signal less live esports events
In sweeping news yesterday, game publisher Activision Blizzard began 2021 layoffs with about 50 of its employees. What’s more, this move comes from plans to decrease the focus on live esports events for its major games. More on today's Activision Blizzard layoffs:– Dozens of people at the whole company were impacted, not just in live […]
Business 
ESL Gaming and Blizzard partner for Hearthstone esports
Today, ESL Gaming announced a two-year partnership with Blizzard Entertainment to operate its Hearthstone esports ecosystem. Taking hold of Hearthstone, ESL Gaming will orchestrate all upcoming esports-related events, such as the Grandmasters and the Hearthstone Masters Tours, all of which entails a prize pool of $3 million per calendar year. Today we're thrilled to announce […]
The Coronavirus Could Be More Than Just a Setback for the OWL and E3
The Coronavirus is officially a pandemic according to the World Health Organization. Countries around the world are scrambling to figure out proper responses to the disease that has infected over 125,000 and killed nearly 5,000 people. In esports, there have been extensive ramifications for many leagues, teams and tournaments. League of Legends has seen play […]
Riot Games Extends Nielsen Partnership for League of Legends Viewership
Esports is overrun with sensationalist headlines about viewership. As different streaming services use unique ways to track viewers, many different metrics quantify how popular esports events are. Peak concurrents, total hours and average viewers are all popular choices. As long as viewership was being compared in the same terms, there wasn’t an issue. But when […]
Overwatch 
Path to Pro: Overwatch
Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League has rapidly become a prominent titan within the esports scene. The heavily funded franchise league is host to the highest level of international Overwatch competition found anywhere in the world. OWL’s highly televised matches have created massive fan followings, turning players and teams into esports celebrities. Professional players enjoy contracts with […]
Immortals Group sells Houston Outlaws to the Beasley Media Group
Immortals Gaming Club (IGC) has announced the sale of the Overwatch League franchise, Houston Outlaws, to the Beasley Media Group. IGC acquired the Houston Outlaws franchise when they bought all the assets of Infinite Esports & Entertainment in June 2019 for $100 million. IGC is already an investor in the Overwatch League as they own […]
More Games 
IEM Katowice adds $400K StarCraft 2 tournament
ESL announced a $400 thousand StarCraft 2 tournament at IEM Katowice 2020 to mark ten years of StarCraft 2 tournaments at ESL. StarCraft 2 was one of the first competitive esports titles. The fact that Blizzard continues to support it means the game still has a thriving esports community. Last weekend, the World Championship Series […]
Overwatch: How the game passed 50 million players
Overwatch has come a long way since its release back in the Spring of 2016, debuting on May 24. Overwatch was one of a kind when it came to games in general. The game was uniquely designed and ultimately fresh. That amassed a massive supporting background for the game, which also contributed to its success […]
Overwatch 2 Announced: New Heroes, Modes, Maps and More!
It had already been rumored to be in development for a few days now, but Blizzard finally announced Overwatch 2 at BlizzCon this past Friday, Nov 1. Overwatch’s much-anticipated sequel was given no release date, but judging by the trailer shown at Blizzcon, and the fact that BlizzCon attendees could already play the game, it’s […]
