New York, NY, SVG Summit—December 16, 2019—The Overwatch League™ today announced a collaboration with TeamSpeak™, the leading provider of online communication services and tools that enable professional gamers and aspiring pros to achieve their highest potential. In a three-year deal beginning with its 2020 season, the Overwatch League will integrate TeamSpeak’s advanced technology to power all in-game communications as the league’s official voice supplier through 2022.
The collaboration will also include a global marketing partnership featuring activations at various Overwatch League events throughout the term, including sweepstakes where fans will have the chance to win tickets to league events and Overwatch League prizes.
TeamSpeak will develop a custom solution for the Overwatch League based on their existing technology platform. The TeamSpeak technology provides ultra-low latency, high reliability and high-definition audio for mission critical in-game communications. TeamSpeak tools provide the highest degree of performance, security, and flexibility—which make it an ideal solution for the Overwatch League.
Performance: The company’s proprietary technology was built from the ground up for the global gaming audience to provide crystal-clear, lag-free voice communication, without affecting the performance of the game.
Security: TeamSpeak voice channels and messages are end-to-end encrypted using strong security methods. This means that conversations and data cannot be intercepted, providing absolute game integrity.
Flexibility: TeamSpeak’s advanced permission system, LAN/off-line capability and ultra-low resource usage provides the portability and flexibility required by esports event organizers. In addition, the multi-track recording feature securely isolates individual and team voice streams, to enable future playback for admins and coaches.
“Being selected as the official voice supplier for the Overwatch League is a significant step in the growth and global adoption of our superior voice technology,” noted Ian Bamford, CEO of TeamSpeak. “We’re thrilled to set the new de facto standard for in-game communications, powering thousands of professional teams and aspiring pros the world over.”
As the official voice supplier for the Overwatch League, TeamSpeak has worked closely with Overwatch League technical and production teams to produce a fully digital audio solution to replace the analogue on-stage communication systems that were used in prior seasons.
“In-game communication is crucial, especially at the professional level where the stakes are high and latency, performance, and quick interaction can make or break a team’s ability to win,” stated Pete Emminger, vice president of global broadcast at Blizzard Entertainment. “As Overwatch League teams get set to host matches in their home markets around the world starting in February, having TeamSpeak as the official voice supplier for all Overwatch League matches will give players the highest quality voice comms available.”
TeamSpeak provides a secure, off-line environment for voice communications that can be recorded, distributed, easily transported and managed by one central admin while maintaining the lowest levels of latency and resource usage. By combining integrity, performance, flexibility, and portability, TeamSpeak and the Overwatch League have created an ideal in-game communications solution for future esports competitions.
About TeamSpeak
Based in San Diego, CA with offices in London and Germany, TeamSpeak is the leading provider of online communication services and tools that enable professional gamers and aspiring pros to achieve their highest gaming potential. TeamSpeak powers thousands of leading esports teams, and delivers best-in-class capabilities to provide superior performance, security and flexibility. The company’s global footprint enables millions of gamers to play competitively in such games as Overwatch, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Call of Duty, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA2, League of Legends, and Rainbow Six Siege. For more information, visit TeamSpeak at: www.teamspeak.com
About the Overwatch League™
The Overwatch League™ is the first major global professional esports league with city-based teams across Asia, Europe, and North America. Overwatch® was created by globally acclaimed publisher Blizzard Entertainment (a division of Activision Blizzard—Nasdaq: ATVI), whose iconic franchises have helped lay the foundations and push the boundaries of professional esports over the last 15 years. The latest addition to Blizzard's stable of twenty-two #1 games,[1] Overwatch was built from the ground up for online competition, with memorable characters and fast-paced action designed for the most engaging gameplay and spectator experiences. To learn more about the Overwatch League, visit www.overwatchleague.com.
[1] Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and reports from key distributors.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®, Overwatch®, the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, and the multi-franchise Heroes of the Storm®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (https://www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's track record includes twenty-two #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online gaming service, Blizzard Battle.net®, is one of the largest online-gaming services in the world, with millions of active players.
*Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and reports from key distributors.
About Activision Blizzard Esports
Activision Blizzard Esports (ABE) is responsible for the development, operation, and commercialization of Activision Blizzard's professional gaming properties including the Overwatch League™, the Call of Duty® World League, Hearthstone Masters, the StarCraft II World Championship Series, and the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International, among others. ABE also operates Tespa, the leader in collegiate esports. It is ABE's vision to be the most innovative, scalable, and valuable developer of global competitive entertainment.
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OVERWATCH, OVERWATCH LEAGUE and the OVERWATCH LEAGUE logo are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other names are trademarks of their respective holders.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves the Overwatch League’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the collaboration with TeamSpeak, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause the Overwatch League’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to the Overwatch League and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither the Overwatch League nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of the Overwatch League or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.