Are you looking to showcase your brand in front of the brightest minds of the gaming industry? Consider getting a custom GamesBeat sponsorship. Learn more.
Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch League has announced 12 teams for its inaugural season, and over the last month or so, it’s unveiled each squad’s banner colors, logos, and names. Today, Optic Gaming announced that its team is the Houston Outlaws.
The Outlaws’ logo features revolvers that suggest the classic Texan longhorn skull, along with the trademark bright green Optic team color. Optic is a Texas-based esports organization with teams that compete in shooters like Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, though it also plays Dota 2 competitively. It recently took the $1.5 million top prize at the Call of Duty World League Championship. According to a Nielsen report, it’s one of the three most popular North American esports teams, along with Cloud9 and Team Liquid.
The Overwatch League takes its cue from traditional sports, structuring its organization with city-based teams and offering participating players a guaranteed yearly salary of $50,000. It’s an attempt by Blizzard to build Overwatch up into a successful esport.
Though the game has generated over $1 billion in revenue and boasts over 30 million players, it’s had a somewhat shaky journey as a competitive sport. A few teams have dropped their Overwatch rosters, such as Ninjas in Pyjamas and Splyce, citing that the esport scene just hasn’t been growing as quickly as they’d hoped.
Event
GamesBeat at the Game Awards
We invite you to join us in LA for GamesBeat at the Game Awards event this December 7. Reserve your spot now as space is limited!
The Overwatch League preseason starts on December 6, and season kicks off on January 10.
GamesBeat's creed when covering the game industry is "where passion meets business." What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you -- not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. Discover our Briefings.
