xQc reveals that an Overwatch League contract almost led to a players union

Before Felix 'xQc' Lengyel made it big as a variety Twitch streamer, he was an Overwatch pro. From 2016, he played as a competitive Overwatch player for the Dallas Fuel. However, he soon moved on from competitive gaming and started a career in gaming streams and content creation.

xQc used to be a professional Overwatch player before switching to full time streaming (Image via Liquipedia)

In a recent stream, the former Overwatch pro revealed that the Overwatch League had forced them to sign a contract on the spot, which had almost resulted in a players union.

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xQc reveals how he was almost part of a players union during his Overwatch days

In a recent stream with fellow Overwatch streamer Hasan "HasanAbi' Piker, xQc revealed that at the end of the Overwatch League's very first media day, Blizzard forced its players to sign "big a** contracts" on the spot, without allowing them to go through it carefully.

"When I got into the Overwatch League, we all signed our own contracts with our own [organization] and then went to the media day. At the end of the conference, they gave us these big a** contracts. Every player had to sign to accept the official Overwatch League agreement."

Lengyel revealed that not every player agreed to sign the contract on the spot since they wanted to go through it. He explained that they believed this was kind of "stupid," and the pressure from Blizzard almost resulted in the players unionizing.

"The document was huge. Big a** document. Not everybody agreed with it. We were like, this is kind of stupid. People started bringing it up, maybe we should unionize."

xQc was forced to sign the Overwatch League contract on the spot (Image via Rock Paper Shotgun)

Contracts are usually made to safeguard players and make them aware of the do's and don'ts of being a professional player. However, it is natural for players to feel like there is something sketchy if the developers force them to sign on the dotted line immediately without reading the document thoroughly.

The streamer concluded that a player union did not occur as they were all forced to sign the contract then and there, so they did not have the time to protest.

"Every player just signed it and that was the end of it."