"25% is actually a joke": Players callout Blizzard for unfair prize-pool distribution in OWCS

Ahead of the OWCS Dallas Major 2024, Blizzard made an announcement regarding the prize pool distribution. In light of that incident, the Overwatch community became furious about only 25% of the revenue being shared in the prize pool, making it unfair for the participating teams.

A famous Overwatch content creator @EskayOW posted about this preposterous scheme that Blizzard is about to perform and mentioned “25% is actually a joke”. She claimed that contributing a mere 25% would never make Overwatch esports (OWCS) successful.

In support of @EskayOW’s comment, another fan posted a solution that might save the Overwatch esports scene as a whole. They mentioned that instead of contributing a mere amount from one crowdfunded bundle, Blizzard should contribute the money from the amount they’re earning by selling the in-game shop items.

A user posted a unique idea about the crowdfunding implementation in OWCS (Image via X)

Another user agreed with the opinion and suggested that instead of gathering the money from a DPS hero, Blizzard should perform this crowdfunding scheme for each role in-game.

A user commenting about tweaking the current crowdfunding scheme (Image via X)

During this fiasco, one user named @HammerSamss showed their genuine concern about the Overwatch League Tokens as these used to be claimed for free by watching the Overwatch pro league streams. They commented:

"Shouldn’t this be an Overwatch league skin purchasable with Overwatch league tokens? Or are they just binning them off as well meaning the tokens are useless now?"

Meanwhile, a user @PawelTHanc suggested that if the community really wants to support the Overwatch esports scene, they should directly donate the money to the esports players instead of spending it in-game.

A user suggested to donate the money directly to the OWCS players (Image via X)

Even though the internet is filled with negative comments about Blizzard contributing only 25% of their revenue earned from the Crowdfunded Hanzo bundle, a user justified the contribution and mentioned that this is a standard amount in any esports crowdfunding scene.

So it seems like some fans have given up on Overwatch's competitive scene as one user claimed it is impossible to make a living off "going-pro" in this game unless one player belongs in the top 2 regional teams or earns a hefty amount of cash in the Saudi league.

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Overwatch 2 players furious about prize-pool proceeds for upcoming OWCS

As mentioned earlier, most content creators alongside the players from the Overwatch 2 community are furious about a mere 25% contribution from Blizzard in the OWCS prize pool. Despite the company making a handsome amount of money from the microtransactions in-game, they seem less interested in contributing the money to revive the Overwatch esports scene.

Previously, several netizens have witnessed this kind of Crowdfunding work in HCS (Halo Championship Series). However, those didn't end up well and the organizers had to remove it and never appeared in the scene.