Free Overwatch HD Cover

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Professional competition
Overwatch was not developed with any dedication towards eSports, focusing on "building a great competitive game" first and foremost, according to Morhaime, though they recognized that the game had potential as an eSports title through internal testing. Although Blizzard had success with committing to eSports with the development of Starcraft II, they had found that "it's dangerous to be overly committed to esport too early in the lifespan of the game", according to Kaplan instead seeing how the community developed this over time as they saw from Hearthstone. Kaplan stated that while eSports was not a design goal, they included and planned for features for the game to support the competitive community. This included the introduction of the game's competitive mode some months after the game's launch after seeing how players took towards Overwatch; Blizzard saw the ladder-approach they used as a means for skilled players to reach high ranks as to be noticed by eSport team organizers. Dan Szymborski writing for ESPN stated that Overwatch was poised as the next big eSport for having a sufficiently different look and playstyle from established eSports titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Call of Duty, enough variety in maps and characters, and strong support from Blizzard to maintain the game for a long time. Bryant Francis writing for Gamasutra noted the speed and short match times of Overwatch make the game highly favorable for viewership, further supporting the title as an eSports title.Just prior to the game's release, PC Gamer writer Stefan Dorresteijn contacted professional eSports players and hosts for their opinions. Longtime eSports host Paul Chaloner stated that " needs a much better spectator system," going on to elaborate, "Right now, it's incredibly difficult for commentators and viewers to see the skills of the players: who used their ultimates and how did they interact? Who is on cooldown and who has changed hero?" Fellow eSports player Seb Barton and Michael Rosen criticized the game's map designs and game modes; Barton remarked that "the game modes are a little hit and miss," adding that "King of the hill is super exciting and fast paced but then you have the payload maps, which are just a snoozefest for everyone involved." Rosen expressed a need for tweaking to the maps used for the control game mode, as they are "just too prone to the snowball effect. The moment the attacking team captures the first control point they don't just have the momentum but also the last advantage for the second and final capture point."The first organized, prize-winning competitions for Overwatch started in mid-2016, a few months after launch. The eSports organizer ESL held the first international Overwatch competition in August 2016, called Overwatch Atlantic Showdown. The competition used four open qualifiers beginning in June, followed by regional qualifiers and then a final online qualifier. Eight teams then competed for a six-figure prize in the finals to be held at Gamescom 2016 from August 20–21. Turner Broadcasting's ELeague announced the first Overwatch Open tournament, starting in July 2016, with a total prize pool of $300,000, with plans to broadcast the finals on Turner's cable channel TBS in September 2016. In November 2016, Blizzard hosted their own Overwatch World Cup, allowing users to vote for teams to represent their nation or region, with finals taking place during their BlizzCon event. Overwatch grew increasingly in South Korea since it was released. It topped gaming cafes in Korea in terms of player count, surpassing that of League of Legends. The game influenced the creation of an eSports tournament in the region, under the brand APEX, which was shut down in January 2018.


Overwatch League

At Blizzcon 2016, Blizzard announced their plans for their Overwatch League, using an organization of permanent teams in league placements similar to more traditional North American professional sports leagues, rather than the use of promotion and relegation used in a series like League of Legends Championship Series. Blizzard sought potential team owners including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, and by November 2017, had established 12 franchises around the world with plans to expand further in later seasons. Contracted players on these franchises are guaranteed a minimum salary, benefits, and revenue sharing. The first season of the League started in January 2018, with teams vying for a US$one million League winner prize, alongside other winnings from a total prize pool of US$3.5 million. The first season was played at Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California, but Blizzard anticipates developing other venues around the world with teams traveling to participate in games.


Reception
Before its release, Overwatch experienced a period of pre-launch attention not typically expected; Game Revolution noted that " reputation has quickly permeated through cyberspace, attracting attention from people who may not traditionally put down $40 to $60 each time a new first-person shooter releases." The game's open beta, which attracted 9.7 million players, was very heavily covered by the media.Overwatch received "universal acclaim" upon release, according to review aggregator Metacritic. IGN's Vince Ingenito praised the game's characters and maps, writing "Overwatch takes just about every possible opportunity to make its cast and locales seem like people and places rather than puppets and scenery." Ingenito added that the game has a "strong online experience that gets you into games quickly and reliably." The Verge's Andrew Webster praised Overwatch and previous titles Titanfall and Splatoon as "friendly online shooters" that have room for both new and casual players who may not desire to master the game but can still compete fairly with others, and for expert players that can utilize the various heroes to adapt to the dynamic tactics of the game. Webster went on to cite the atmosphere of Overwatch as a reason for the game's approachability, writing, "The first thing that makes Overwatch's world appealing and approachable is, well, its world. This isn't the dour brown-and-grey shooter you might be used to. Instead, it's bright and colorful, with a cast of characters that's eclectic and diverse." Caty McCarthy of Kill Screen echoed similar thoughts, writing "When playing Overwatch, the player is absorbed by its radiating positivity. It's a world filled with lively color and energetic, playful competition, much like Nintendo's creative kid-friendly ink-shooter Splatoon." Mike Minotti of VentureBeat commending the team-based gameplay, the game's diverse character roster and colorful settings, as well as the unlockable cosmetics earned through level progression and the smooth server connection. Referencing its similarities to Team Fortress 2, Minotti confirmed that " distinct classes, the team- and objective-based combat, and a bright, cartoon-like art style," and that "Overwatch certainly takes plenty of inspiration from Valve's online shooter series," but opines that " just better." Daniel Tack of The News & Observer positively received the game, expressing that "no matter what happens – win or lose – you’re going to have fun," adding that "the game's strength lies in its simplicity and polish." Tack went on to praise the game's characters, writing "Unforgettable characters are the lifeblood and driving force of Overwatch." The Denver Post's Hugh Johnson lauded the game for its emphasis on characters, rather than focusing on traditional first-person shooter tropes, such as weapon load outs and incremental level upgrades. Johnson went on to insist that the characters are balanced writing, "The big question with class-based shooters like these is whether or not the characters are balanced," expressing that "some characters are naturally better, but no character is so overpowered that their mere presence spells doom for their opponents." In June 2016, Vulture's Joshua Rivera listed Overwatch as one of the "best video games of 2016 ," writing, "It's hard to separate Overwatch the game from Overwatch the phenomenon — and why bother, both are fascinating."The online magazine Inverse, while expressing an overall positive reception for the game, pointed out the balance of McCree, teams composed of only one character, issues with matchmaking, and the Play of the Game as problems that should be fixed by the game's development team. Gabe Gurwin of Digital Trends, directed criticism at Blizzard, for their decision to exclude the story from the game, which left players "with a great game, a great story, and no way to reconcile the two."Shortly after the game's competitive play mode was released, Kotaku's Nathan Grayson stated that "Overwatch's competitive mode all that bad, for how new and unpolished it is," but opined that "high-stakes competition and toxicity tend to go hand-in-hand, and Overwatch's competitive mode already has an ugly toxic stain." Grayson concluded his piece with "Overwatch is, most of the time, a feel-good team game. Introducing high-stakes competition with a muddled message about the importance of individual skill drags the game into confused, oftentimes negative territory. If Blizzard wants this thing to work, they're gonna have to figure out a competitive framework that's true to Overwatch's spirit, rather than just the spirit of competition." Kaplan acknowledged that with the introduction of competitive mode that the whole of the Overwatch community has become more toxic, and they are constantly adapting elements behind the scenes to help deal with aggressive players in a more responsive manner, while trying to promote more enjoyable matches.


Sales

A week from its launch, Blizzard reported over seven million Overwatch players with a total accumulated playtime of 119 million hours; Blizzard reported more than 10 million players by mid-June, and has reported continued increases in the player base, with 40 million players as of May 2018. The NPD Group, a video game industry tracking firm, reported that Overwatch was the third best-selling retail video game in the US in May 2016 on the month of its release, and was the top-selling game in June 2016; the NPD Group later reported it was the 7th highest selling game by revenue in the United States for all of 2016. With digital sales, Overwatch was the fastest selling game during its release month. SuperData Research estimated that Overwatch brought in more than $269 million in revenues from digital sales worldwide in May, and over $565 million in sales on personal computers along by the end of 2016, making it the highest grossing paid game for personal computers that year.In Activision-Blizzard's quarterly earnings report for Q1 2017, the company reported that Overwatch revenues had exceeded one billion dollars, the eighth such property owned by the company to do so. In June 2016, Gametrics, a South Korean internet cafe survey website, reported that Overwatch overtook League of Legends as the most popular game played across 4,000 of South Korea's PC bangs at the time.In 2018, Overwatch raised over $12.7 million for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which they generated from selling a special character skin where all proceeds went towards it.


Controversies
While the developers were aiming to avoid sexualization of the characters, there was some criticism of the female characters of the game during its development. In February 2015, Anita Sarkeesian commented on the lack of diversity in the female heroes' body types from the game's first twelve revealed characters, while Nathan Grayson of Kotaku remarked that "Overwatch's women are mostly super slim and clad in cat suits." In March 2015, the development team revealed a new character, Zarya, who is a female Russian bodybuilder with a muscular body, and pledged commitment to diversity.Following promotional images featuring the female character Tracer in March 2016, a thread on Blizzard's official forums drew attention to one of Tracer's victory poses, which was criticised by a user as out of character and oversexualized. Kaplan apologized for the pose, stating "The last thing we want to do is make someone feel uncomfortable, under-appreciated or misrepresented," and confirmed that Blizzard planned to replace the pose. Kaplan's response drew mixed reactions from the gaming community, with many claiming Blizzard had forgone its creative control over the game and censored its content to placate one offended user, while others praised Blizzard's willingness to listen to the community and adhere to standards for portraying a character according to their personality. Bowmasters - Multiplayer Game
. Kaplan later stated that the team was already unsure of the pose and was thinking of changing it. Bejeweled Blitz
. The following week, a replacement pose was released, although it was noted to be similar to the original pose. Farm Heroes Saga
. The replacement pose was alleged to be influenced by Billy DeVorss cheesecake pin-up art. Deer Hunter 2018™
. The pose was replaced during the game's beta period. Rolly Vortex
.Following the game's release, some of the alternative outfits for characters had come under criticism for using cultural stereotypes, such as a Native American headdress option for the character of Pharah, who seemed to be primarily of Egyptian origin. Kaplan noted that they considered for all these outfits if they were appropriate, believing they were respecting the cultures of the characters they had created, and would make necessary changes if they felt there were valid concerns. Kaplan commented that many players have responded positively to these outfits and feel they fit in appropriately with the idealized version of Earth. Later game developments showed that Pharah was actually set out as a half-Egyptian/half-Native American character, making such outfits appropriate in hindsight.In Overwatch's Asia servers, there were problems with numerous players using cheats tied to the growing number of younger players using PC bangs in South Korea that allow them to play Overwatch on an inexpensive hourly rate rather than purchasing the game. As