Owl remember you

Good Morning. Today is National Taco Day. Yeah, we’re just as disappointed as you that it didn’t land on a Tuesday.

Speaking of tacos, remember that time when Taco Bell referenced Kingdom Hearts in a rap?

— Tim Rhyne, Derek Neville, Jason Liu

MAIN QUEST: the rise and fall of Overwatch League

The 2023 Overwatch League (OWL) Grand Finals, held in Toronto, Canada, were a mix of triumph and melancholy, as the Florida Mayhem clinched their first championship by defeating the Houston Outlaws. Despite the victory, a shadow lingered over the event, indicative of what might be the last championship of the once-vibrant e-sports league. Dwindling viewership and revenue for the Overwatch 2-based global competition have painted a bleak picture, with Blizzard letting go of 50 employees and providing existing teams an option to either continue in the league as-is or accept a $6 million buyout after the 2023 season.

Six years prior, the Overwatch League exploded onto the esports scene with a franchise-based model that aimed to embed city-centered teams into local fan bases and leverage traditional sports allegiances, a strategy that involved considerable investments and high-profile involvements, such as the Kraft group, owners of the New England Patriots.

Despite initial success and a passionate core fanbase, various challenges, including the transition to Overwatch 2, allegations of sexual harassment within Blizzard, the pandemic’s impact on international events, and logistical difficulties stemming from the franchise model, eroded the league's stability and appeal.

Step back: It was the perfect storm of headwinds for the OWL that prevented any sustained growth. Be it the pandemic lockdown, or Activision Blizzard’s legal troubles that pushed sponsors away, the league took blow after blow. E-sports’ inability to turn a profit has been an industry-wide phenomenon where investors across the board have since realized that projections were too bullish from the beginning.

HUD

• 🏆 FF14 player earns every achievement in the game and all DLCs. To put this into perspective, if a player started today and played perfectly for earning achievements it would take at least 7 years.

• 🎂 All Fortnite Experiences will be getting age ratings from the International Age Rating Coalition starting November 14th. This includes “all first and third-party playable content.”

• ☁️ Samsung will reportedly launch its cloud gaming service on Galaxy phones this week. Samsung Game Launcher has been in beta for a few months.

MAJOR W

• 😈 Overwatch 2’s Season 7 will crossover with the Diablo franchise.

• 🔨 Payday 3 developer Starbreeze says the matchmaking issues that plagued the game’s release have been fixed and that its first update will be released later this month.

• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 FF14’s patch 6.5 allows players to play the MMO with NPCs in their parties instead of other players — effectively making it possible to play solo.

F IN THE CHAT

• 🚫 BackerKit, a crowdfunding platform, bans AI-generated content. In contrast to Kickstarter, which requires creators to disclose AI use within their campaigns.

• 💰 Netflix will increase the price of its ad-free subscription once the actor’s strike ends.

• 📉 Dang! is closing its studio as they are “out of money” for any additional games.

• 🏗️ Team17’s restructuring is expected to result in significant layoffs.

• 🧟 Naughty Dog has made cuts to its development team, with 25 contract developers being laid off, and it looks like we won’t be getting a Last of Us multiplayer game soon.

CAREER CORNER

• Haptics Platform Product Manager - Meta (Zurich, Switzerland)

• APAC Business Development Manager - Epic Games (Seoul, South Korea)

• Financial Analyst - Humble Bundle (Remote - US)

HIVE MIND

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