Toronto Defiant becomes second team to officially leave Overwatch League

Overactive Media, the parent company of the Toronto Defiant, confirmed today it is exiting the Overwatch League.

In a statement on Nov. 8, OAM announced it has entered a final agreement with Activision Blizzard to end its spell in the franchised league. According to the statement, Overactive Media will receive a termination payment of $6 million from Activision Blizzard.

OAM’s co-founder and interim CEO Adam Adamou said that despite the company’s decision to terminate its contract with the OWL, it still has intentions to compete in Overwatch esports in the future.

“Our commitment to our teams and esports is stronger than ever,” he said. “We believe this move is a crucial step to ensuring their continued success. We are eager to share more about our vision for Toronto Defiant and our plans to return to Overwatch esports. We expect more information to come on this front soon.”

Toronto Defiant is the second team to officially end its relationship with the Overwatch League in 2023, following the Chengdu Hunters in June.

Serious doubt was cast over the Overwatch League’s future back in June when it was announced that teams would be allowed to vote on the future of the competition, with the option to exit the league and receive a termination fee.

On Nov. 3, Jacob Wolf reported the Overwatch League is essentially finished, with Activision Blizzard eyeing Saudi Arabian-owned ESL to take charge of running a new open circuit ecosystem.

The dissolution of the OWL could be an expensive process for Activision Blizzard’s new owner, Microsoft, who may have to foot the $120 million bill should every organization choose to take the $6 million termination payout.