The Overwatch League may well and truly be over following the conclusion of its 2023 season after six years of exciting competition.
With the Florida Mayhem sweeping the Boston Uprising at the Mattamy Athletic Centre to crown them as OWL 2023 Champions came the sudden realization that OWL could be no more.
That's because org owners will now have to decide whether they continue marching on with the project or if they'll take a $6 million buyout from Blizzard to put an end to their partnership, according to reports.
Still, that doesn't mean Overwatch esports are over with fans still looking forward to the Overwatch World Cup to close out the year and a hopeful message shared via the OWL social media channels, which state that they'll be looking into building a new vision for a revamped Overwatch esports program.
Is Overwatch League coming back?
The answer is still most likely no, Overwatch League as we know it is not coming back. Having said that, the Overwatch League Twitter account shared the following message.
With the completion of the 2023 Overwatch League season, we will be focusing on building our vision for a revitalized esports program. We're eager to share more with you as details are finalized
Regardless of the outcome of the meeting between org owners and Blizzard, it's clear there's intent from everyone behind the scenes to keep the ball rolling.
Sadly, it's not looking good for those who wanted the OWL formatting and branding around. Even during the season, some teams decided to pull out from the competition, like the Chengdu Hunters, who decided to forfeit amid this situation and the fact that Overwatch no longer has servers in China.
Others decided to cut their losses with small cheap rosters to cruise by for the year, trying to spend as little as possible. A clear indication that there's no willingness from the majority of the organisations to keep OWL going.
There are few who still believe, like OverActive CEO Adam Adamou, who promised they'll do everything in their power to possibly bring back OWL next year.
So there you have it! For more on Overwatch, check out the full breakdown of the latest Overwatch 2 season, Rise of Darkness.