Activision Is Bringing Esports Franchises to a City Near You
- Overwatch League will put teams in cities starting in 2020
- Twenty teams will be in six countries, on three continents
Attendees play Activision Blizzard Inc.'s Overwatch computer game at an e-Sports event in Tokyo.
Photographer: Akio Kon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Overwatch League, the competitive video-game endeavor that Activision Blizzard Inc. launched last year, continues to model its future on traditional organizations like the National Football League and National Basketball Association.
Starting in 2020, most of the league’s 20 franchises will leave Los Angeles, their home for the first two years, and decamp for New York, Paris, Shanghai and other cities. Nate Nanzer, the league’s commissioner, made the announcement Friday at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas.