In the latest slew of canceled eSports events this year, Activision-Blizzard has officially canceled Overwatch League events for the next two months. A Twitter post announced that due to increasing concern over the Coronavirus, Overwatch League will postpone events for the time being.
In a tweet, Overwatch officials have said that only the events planned for March and April have been suspended to protect the health and safety of its players. The Coronavirus has broken out in several countries, and many events including the NBA and NCAA have since been canceled. Activision-Blizzard Entertainment is still working on ways to get Overwatch teams to be able to participate in events, as there were already cancelations at their recent events in China.
The Coronavirus appears to be taking out more and more events across the gaming community. E3 was one of the more shocking events to be canceled this week, after many vendors were already dropping out. Due to mandates from local authorities, several events larger than 200 people will indefinitely be canceled. However, there are companies like Microsoft who are planning to keep their fans gaming by creating digital events that people can enjoy from the safety of their own homes.
Blizzard doesn't have any set plans for a digital event as of yet, but it looks like the company is looking into the possibility.
"Concurrently, we are working hand-in-hand with our teams to see that all matches are played when its safe and logistically feasible, staying as close to our originally planned schedule as possible. We are considering the various options available to esports in this effort..."
A digital event would require extra planning for teams but would require less travel and risk to teammates the health of those around them.
The news of Overwatch League's cancelation was followed shortly after the resignation of Michael Chu, lead writer of the Overwatch games. His departure from the team seems to have little to do with the Coronavirus, but more to do with the exploration of new opportunities. As such, plans for the release of Overwatch 2 seem to be still on track for release as long as COVID-19 does not create any further delays.
Overwatch is currently available and can be played on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
