Cornerstone Advisors Group LLC

Overwatch's Development Started Around 2013 Near The Same Time That Esports And Spectator-driven Video Gaming Were Starting To Gain Wide Popularity Due To Accessibility Of Live Streaming Platforms However The Game's Development Was Not Dedicated Towards Esports; According To Lead Director Jeff Kaplan "it's Dangerous To Be Overly Committed To Esport Too Early In The Lifespan Of The Game" Based On Past Experiences Blizzard Had Had In Esports And Instead Planned Any Esports-related Goals By Observing The Game's Player Community During Overwatch's Beta Period Between Late 2015 And Mid-2016 Blizzard Observed That Players Were Already Forming Ad Hoc Competitions And Tournaments For The Game According To Nanzer Who Was Blizzard's Global Director Of Research And Consumer Insights Prior To Being The League's Commissioner Blizzard Considered The Potential If They Were The Ones In Charge Of Setting Up These Competitions Nanzer Stated: "If We Structure A League The Right Way And Put The Right Investment Behind It We Can Actually Monetize It In A Way That�s Not Too Dissimilar From Traditional Sports." Building From This Insight Blizzard Started Crafting The Basis For The Overwatch League Part Of This Included Adding Competitive Features Into The Main Overwatch Game Such As Ranked Player Where Skilled Players Would Be Able To Climb A Rankings Ladder Allowing Them To Be Noticed By Esport Team Organizers In October 2016 Bobby Kotick CEO Of Blizzard's Parent Company Activision Blizzard First Mentioned The Overwatch League Describing How Viewership Of User-generated Esports Content Was Around 100 Million Exceeding Viewership For Some Professional NFL And NBA Games And Saw The Potential To Provide "professional Content" Through The Overwatch League To Tap Into That Viewership