Image credit: Chengdu Hunters / Blizzard Entertainment
In March, two former Chengdu Hunters players, Zhou ‘Mmonk’ Xiang and Huang ‘leave’ Xin, left the Hunters to compete for rival Chinese Overwatch League (OWL) franchise Hangzhou Spark. The Esports Advocate report added that most of the other players have since moved on, either to other OWL teams or as free agents.
Doubts over the franchise’s future were first raised when the team tweeted “Goodbye, and see you again… Overwatch has been shut down in mainland China” in January.
The publisher’s aforementioned announcement that Chengdu Hunters would be excluded from the 2023 Overwatch League season — while it was “contemplating its future direction” — led to further speculation about the team’s situation.
According to the Esports Advocate report, on March 11th a Chengdu Hunters staffer had posted on their personal Weibo account that the team had already disbanded.
In January, Overwatch went offline in China due to a tumultuous breakdown in the 14-year-old relationship between Activision Blizzard and NetEase, its Chinese distribution partner. Video games need government approval to operate in the Chinese market, and must partner with a local distributor; NetEase held this licence.
As a result of breakdown, the title became unplayable in the country. As Esports Insider reported at the time, even esports broadcasts of the game are, technically, not allowed.
It is currently unclear what will happen to the Chengdu Hunters’ Overwatch League franchise slot. The team has been part of the Overwatch League since the league was founded in 2018. Founding teams paid $20m (~£16.5m) for their franchise slots when the league was created.
It is also currently unclear how the other three remaining China-based OWL franchises are continuing to operate, given the game is unplayable in the country, however they are currently competing in the ongoing season. It was initially speculated that the franchises might relocate, or that the players would play from outside China.
Jake Nordland
Jake is Esports Insider’s Features and Trending News Editor. Part of the ESI team since early 2021, he’s interested in politics, education and sustainability in esports.
