Overwatch World Cup Announced

So, I’m currently trundling my way embarrassingly through the competitive matches of Overwatch (2 out of 7 anyone L ) Despite this, I’m still loving the game. Sure the shine has come off a little bit and the gaps between good players and bad players gets ever wider, but it’s still ranking a great deal of play time from me.

I’m not alone in this, Blizzard have just confirmed that Overwatch has not got excess of 15 million players around the world. This number includes all players of Overwatch so “box and digital sales, internet game room players, and multi-user console households.” All of these players amount to around a quarter of a billion hours played, so around ten hours per person.

It’s not surprising, as Blizzard has a way of integrating all their player bases together. If they’re big enough to have their own conference then a large player base is to be expected.

Speaking of conferences, Blizzard also announced that there will be an Overwatch World Cup at their Blizzcon this November. Just like the football related World Cup, there will be players chosen to represent their country. Although unlike the real World Cup these will be decided by votes which are due to start next week some time. Then these will get whittled down by way of a set of elimination qualifiers later on in the year. After all it can’t be a popularity vote; you have to actually show skill.

The best 16 teams will be going to Blizzcon to show off their skill in the tournament final. So far, the teams will include the following

• 6 from Europe
• 6 from the Asia-Pacific region
• 4 from the Americas.

If you’re lucky enough to live in Australia, Brazil, Canada,  China , New Zealand, South Korea or the USA then you get through automatically due “to a variety of factors, including server locations, regional infrastructure and connectivity, and other geographical considerations,”

If you’re expecting a massive money jackpot for winning the tournament then you’re out of luck, as this tournament is purely to show off your skill and see who the best is. Although everyone who represents their country will still receive an Overwatch Bonus skin. Plus there’s the free trip to Blizzcon which is not to be sniffed at.

You can get more information on this world cup tournament here.