There’s probably not a lot of lines to read in-between here, but then again, the commissioner and founder of Overwatch’s premier esports league leaving to go to an entirely different venture is certainly intriguing food for thought, at least.
Yes, Nate Nanzer officially announced last week that he’ll be leaving the Overwatch League for what has been confirmed to be a position to help with competitive Fortnite according to a statement from Epic Games. Pete Vlastelica, President and CEO of Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues, has stepped in as Nanzer’s replacement.
The move tracks with Epic Games’ continued inroads in the esports scene: The company snatched up Rocket League developer Psyonix earlier in the month, and both Rocket League and Fortnite are due to hold arena-sized esports events in NYC in June and July. Epic has also been juicing up its prize pools for Fortnite, with a total of $100M set aside for 2019.
This development could also certainly add more fuel to the discussion fire regarding whether the esports bubble is ready to pop, so consider armchair analysis to be welcome here. Assuming, of course, one can avoid the vitriol.
