“Overwatch” Summer Games skins are all the rage these days. It’s like the game is only half a competitive shooter and half a virtual action figure collection, and this new set of skins rounds things out nicely. Everyone is excited; fans are digging the new skins, blanketing some other related news, silently lurking in the background: another long-term endemic Esports brand might be bowing out of the shooter’s competitive landscape.
Team Liquid: ‘We’re out!’
Team Liquid is not interested in participating in Blizzard's upcoming "Overwatch" League and will disband its roster in a few weeks, according to a new ESPN report.
The organization is also looking to sell its Contenders slot. Blizzard's secondary “Overwatch” tournament series begins Aug. 14. However, some of the team will pursue careers in other games, sources said, and some with the Liquid organization
This news follows Team Liquid’s July 13 announcement that four of its “Overwatch” players, Shane “rapha” Hendrixson, Tim “DaHanG” Fogarty, Andrew “id_” Trulli, and Michaël “winz” Bignet, would compete at Quake Champions at QuakeCon on Aug. 24 to 27.
This isn’t the first time an Esports organization withdrew from “Overwatch.” For the past few months, several teams have seemingly lost interest in the fielding professional rosters for their own reasons. One is that the League requires a hefty buy-in price – a staggering $20 million.
While Team Liquid hasn’t confirmed they’re disbanding and withdrawing from the tournament, the report says the organization doesn’t see investment potential in the game.
Earlier this month, Hollywood Hammers vacated the competitive scene for Blizzard’s FPS, for now at least. "We also want to emphasize that the Hammers organization intends to keep an interest within competitive Overwatch and we will be closely monitoring OWL's next developments," the team said in a press release.
Summer Games Event is on a roll
Between today, Aug. 8, and Aug. 28, players will have access to a variety of new cosmetic items, maps, and modes as part of the Summer Games update. Blizzard announced it would be adding a host of new cosmetics, as well as seeing the return of Lucioball with a new map and mode.
This time around, the new Summer Games skins will be available for purchase for the standard event skin prices (3000 gold for a legendary), while skins from last year's event are unlocked for one-third of that cost.
The event has plenty of summer-specific cosmetic content, but not all of it is new. Veteran players will recognize some sporting-themed stuff from last year's event, giving folks another chance to earn them before the event ends.
