It is hard to deny the popularity of professional esports in the games industry, as numerous titles have professional leagues. While millions of gamers play video games every day, pro players take gaming to a whole different level. Among the esports that have a large following is Overwatch.
Announced in 2016, the Overwatch League had its inaugural season back in 2018. Since then, the league has become popular, boasting a large array of fans. In addition, its wide-reaching appeal is aided by the fact that it is an international league with teams from several countries around the globe. As 2022 gets going, players and fans alike are looking forward to another year of competition. However, it appears that things will be quite a bit different this time.
Recently, new details were revealed about the upcoming season of the Overwatch League. As part of the first community update for 2022, it was announced that the new season for the league would get started on May 5. While this update broke down a number of details about the 2022 season, one highlight that likely stood out to many fans was that the teams would be competing in Overwatch 2. However, it is worth noting that this would be a pre-release version of the game, meaning things could be different from what is seen whenever the final product releases.
As a result of this news of the Overwatch League using an early build of Overwatch 2, it was confirmed that teams would now consist of 5 players: 1 Tank, 2 Damage, and 2 Support. This was a departure from previous seasons, where games were composed of 6 player teams competing on the original Overwatch. In addition, the map type Push is being added to league play.
This news is doubtlessly exciting for fans of the franchise. For months players have wanted to see more gameplay of the hotly anticipated sequel, and they now know when they will see more. In addition, this could mean that the game could be further along than previously anticipated, substantiating rumors of a multiplayer beta for Overwatch 2 possibly coming shortly.
While this was the highlight announcement, many other details about the new season were unveiled. Among the news from the community update, it was revealed that four tournaments would take place throughout the season. The names of these tournaments were Kickoff Clash, Midseason Madness, Summer Showdown, and Countdown Cup. The Overwatch League explained these tournaments led up to the playoffs at the end of the season. In addition, the teams would now be required to play 24 matches during the season instead of 16 from last year.
It will be interesting to see when Overwatch 2 eventually releases. At least fans can take solace in knowing that they can watch esports players play the game this summer even if they still cannot.
Overwatch 2 is in development.
Source: Forbes