Heading into this next season of competitive Overwatch, we have high hopes. Accordingly, following a season of general disappointment, a lot of work needs to be done. With the return of the competition this past week though, it seems that we might witness a return to form, starting with Overwatch Viewership – time for a State of the Community.
Why Were We Worried About Overwatch?
I’ll do a bit of explaining before diving into the recent statistics. Heading into this season, last season saw an all-time low in terms of viewership statistics for the Overwatch League. Pair this together with a failing Tier 2 scene (Contenders) and general doubts, the scene wasn’t in the right place at that point in time.
Accordingly, for 2021, the format has been overhauled to be oriented around an-event based schedule – making things more exciting. Following a long post-season, statistics are showing statistics on par with last season – let’s see how they compare!
Overwatch Viewership – Set to Beat 2020
Indeed, viewership at main events will always be better than during a regular season. Bear this in mind as we pull out viewership statistics courtesy of Esports Charts. Let’s dive right into a direct comparison!
- 2019 Stage 1 Season – 297,888 Peak Viewers, 167,759 Average Viewers
- 2020 Overwatch League May Melee – 85,568 Peak Viewers, 61,128 Average Viewers
- 2021 Overwatch League May Melee – 113,115 Peak Viewers, 68,493 Average Viewers
To begin with, I’ll point out that the idea of ‘May Melee’ kicked off in 2020.
Anyways, be sure to take a close look at those statistics. As you can clearly see, there was a sizeable dip from 2019 moving over to 2020 – a 70% drop in viewership! Notably, in this time period, Activision Blizzard signed an exclusivity deal for viewership with YouTube. Accordingly, this may have contributed somewhat to the viewership drop, but this remains unclear.
Now, we can finally focus our gaze on the recent kick off for the 2021 May Melee. We can happily confirm a 32% rise in peak viewership and a 12% increase in average viewership SO FAR. Yes, we’ll also point out that the May Melee event for 2021 has only just begun.
Setting Up For the Playoffs – Calculating Overwatch Viewership
Ok so – the regular season is definitely doing better than last year. Yet, what else can we discuss? I’d like to calculate how this current statistic sets up the Playoffs at the end of the season.
Over the 2020 season, the Playoffs Grand Finals earned 183,036 Peak Viewers and 92 890 Average Viewers. Specifically, this is an average increase of 183% in both parameters. Using this as a standard, we can set up a prediction for what the Grand Finals could achieve later on this year: 207,000 Peak Viewers and 169,988 Average Viewers.
Naturally, the Playoffs Grand Finals are literally miles away; but the idea of being able to predict a possible statistic is definitely insightful. As I’ll reiterate, viewership always upscales during main events over the regular season.
Working Their Way Up The Esports Tier List?
Earlier this month, we churned out our quarterly tier list. Unfortunately, yet with due reason, we had to demote Overwatch down a tier due to lacklustre results as of late. However, should this pace be kept up, I look forward to promoting the scene further up.
With the season only just starting, the sky is the limit for this season.
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