Overwatch 2 esports is back and ditching the Overwatch League model entirely

Overwatch 2's competitive scene is moving past the tearful death of the Overwatch League with a brand-new format likely to please esports traditionalists.

The game's official esports will now be branded as the Overwatch Champions Series, or OWCS. This series will feature regional competitions across NA, EMEA, and Asia regions that culminate in international live events at DreamHack. The earliest stage events will begin in February and March, with the first OWCS major to run at DreamHack Dallas starting on May 31. The next round of events will kick off in August, with the finals to hit Europe at DreamHack Stockholm in December.

You can check out the official blog post for full details on what's been announced so far, but the important part is just how different from the Overwatch League this is. OWL tried to bring a traditionally American sports format, with franchised teams based in specific geographical locations, to a very international esports scene, and while the format had its successes, some observers found it to be an awkward fit.

While we won't know how it all shakes out until OWCS starts in earnest, the line from the community has been pretty optimistic. You can go read Reddit comments for yourself if you want to see the general tone, but there's a lot of "we're so back" in there. The primary point of concern seems to be lingering malaise with the Savvy Games Group, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund-backed company that owns FACEIT, which will be a major partner in running OWCS.

In a seismic update, Overwatch 2 is pulling back from "team strategy and mechanics" by giving every hero in the game built-in healing.