'Overwatch' news: Activision CEO admits company is creating professional content

As it is,“Overwatch” is already a very competitive game, as it pits teams against one another to complete an assigned mission first. However, Blizzard Entertainment is taking it a notch higher as the game developer has admitted to working on professional content, which will officially introduce the title to the world of professional eSports.

During the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, which was held over the weekend, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick made the announcement. “What we’re doing is creating professional content. So we’re organizing around teams and leagues,” The Street noted him saying. “You will have the Overwatch League which will have a certain number of teams. Those teams will be a combination of professional sports teams as owners and endemic sports teams as owners.”

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From his statement, it seems as if “Overwatch” will begin funding professional players, such as the practice with “League of Legends” and “DOTA 2.” To further support this, Kotick briefly mentioned the existence of arena events, which are vital in the world of eSports.

The move makes sense from a financial standpoint as “Overwatch” has quickly become one of the most recognisable and more popular games of 2016. Furthermore, eSports generally rake in about 100 million viewers per event.

Activision Blizzard definitely has been gaining some experience in eSports, which began with its purchase of Major League Gaming, which was made in January. The company is responsible for the “Call of Duty” league, which is one of the most watched global eSports events.

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“Overwatch” is currently on the second season of its ranked play, which might be Blizzard’s stepping stone into the bigger leagues. In addition, the title is already involved in eSports as global competitions have been held in the past. Though the specific plan of the game developer is still under wraps at this point, it is possible that the current settings will simply be transferred to a larger, more organised platform.