Another franchise leaves Overwatch League, shifts focus away from esports entirely—for now

Another gunslinger is leaving town in the form of the Houston Outlaws officially exiting the Overwatch League today while shifting the entire focus of the brand to content and away from esports—for the time being.

While still based in Houston, the organization has rebranded just to the name Outlaws and is exclusively focused on “content and entertainment” for the time being, according to a mock press conference announcement video posted today. In the announcement, the organization’s new content creator core was introduced by managers Choi “Junkbuck” Jae-won and Hyung-seok “Bischu” Kim.

In addition to confirming the team’s exit from the Overwatch League, the remaining members of the Outlaws’ Overwatch division said they’re “not ruling anything out yet” when it comes to competing in other esports. The Outlaws released its entire player roster last month, just a week removed from the team’s grand finals loss to the Florida Mayhem in what almost certainly will be the final Overwatch League playoffs.

But several longtime fans weren’t happy with the announcement, most notably in that the Outlaws did not sign or retain any Overwatch players or creators. Outlaws put out a tweet after the announcement saying it would explore “more Overwatch 2 content along with VALORANT, [Call of Duty], and Fortnite” based on community survey responses.

With its departure, the Outlaws becomes the third franchise to leave the Overwatch League this year alongside the Chengdu Hunters and Toronto Defiant, and the second to do so via the postseason owner’s vote along with the Toronto ownership group OverActive Media. The Outlaws franchise was acquired in 2019 by Beasley Broadcast Group after it and OpTic Gaming were acquired by Immortals Gaming Club, owners of the L.A. Valiant.

While a vast majority of Overwatch League franchises still have not announced their future plans, league officials have confirmed the demise of the league, recently telling GGRecon that it is “transitioning from the Overwatch League and evolving competitive Overwatch in a new direction.”