'Overwatch,' 'Call of Duty' May Follow in Fortnite's Free-to-Play Footsteps: Analyst
*By Zane Bhansali*
Following Epic Games' incredible $3 billion profit gain in 2018, many game developers are eager to emulate its success. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter predicts that Activision Blizzard will follow in Epic's footsteps by changing two of its biggest titles to a free-to-play model.
According to Pachter, Overwatch and Call of Duty may soon switch to the free-to-play model in order to meet investors' expectations.
"The real reason I think this is going to happen," says Pachter, "is that Bobby Kotick, who's the CEO of Activision, has convinced 18 members of the billionaire boys' club to buy franchises in the Overwatch League."
According to Pachter, Activision Blizzard's ($ATVI) only viable route to making back the $18 million to $24 million purchasing fees for each team slot is through advertising ー a model better suited by having more eyes on the game. To Pachter, that means more players who can understand Overwatch's frenetic pace.
"Overwatch, if you play, you get it," says Pachter. "If you don't play, it's incomprehensible. The only way you're going to ever drive more eyeballs is to make it free. The only way these 18 billionaires are going to get their investment back is if the audience expands dramatically."
Blizzard's Overwatch League has faced concerns about viewership numbers after a strong start. According to a [report from The Esports Observer](https://esportsobserver.com/10most-watched-twitch2018/), the Overwatch League Twitch channel ranked fourth in hours watched in 2018 with 74.6 million hours watched. Rival developer Riot Games logged 99.31 million hours on its own channel, while breakout Fortnite streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins eclipsed both, with 226.85 million hours.
After two incredibly close games, the Super Bowl matchup is set. On February 13th, at the SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California, the Los Angeles Rams will face off in their home stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals. After 54 Super Bowls where a home team never hosted the game on its field, it will now happen for the second year in a row, after Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs last year. Speaking of Brady, ESPN dropped a bombshell of a headline Saturday that Tom Brady was set to retire after 22 seasons and seven rings. To discuss all the latest NFL news, Anthony Tall, President of Miracle Sports Group, joins Cheddar News.
In January alone, the gaming sector has seen three major acquisitions. Yesterday, Sony added to the flurry of M&A activity in the gaming space, snatching up game developer 'Bungie' for $3.6 billion dollars. Renee Gittins, executive director at the International Gaming Developers Association, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
NFL legend Tom Brady says he is done playing football after 22 seasons. Cheddar News speaks with Trey Wingo, Chief NFL Analyst at Pro Football Network, about Brady announcing his retirement.
Greg Bishop, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says Tom Brady's legacy is all about 'progress' and expects the future Hall of Famer to bolster his entrepreneurial ventures following his retirement.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been a driving force for youth mentorship since 1904. The nonprofit organization is launching its annual Big Draft campaign this month in partnership with the NFL, and Artis Stevens, the first Black CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, joined Cheddar to discuss the push for adding more "Bigs" as mentors on his one-year anniversary leading the non-profit organization. "While the NFL is recruiting and drafting more players, they're also helping us to draft more mentors and, particularly, men all the way from across February to all the way to April of this year," Stevens explained.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Jim Riordan, Director of the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University, breaks down the successes, failures, and chaos of the first seven months of the Name, Image, Likeness policy in college athletics; Adi Kunalic, President of Opendorse, discusses the first-ever association-wide deal in college athletics between Opendorse and the NAIA, and how Opendorse is marketing and educating student-athletes to make the most of their NIL deal potential; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Predicting a Pro'.
Jim Riordan, Director of the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University, joins Cheddar Reveals to break down the successes, failures, and chaos of the first seven months of the Name, Image, Likeness policy in college athletics.
Adi Kunalic, President of Opendorse, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the first-ever association-wide deal in college athletics between Opendorse and the NAIA, and how Opendorse is marketing and educating student-athletes to make the most of their NIL deal potential.
With the Beijing Winter Olympics set to get underway on Friday, Dan Wolken, a national columnist for USA Today, joined Cheddar News to break down the big storylines as the pandemic and international conflicts threaten to cast a cloud over the event that is aspirationally seen as a beacon of international cooperation. Wolken noted specific issues over cybersecurity for visiting athletes and disputes over human rights leading to a diplomatic boycott have been making waves even before the opening ceremony. "So you've got sort of these barbs going back and forth already between the Americans and the Chinese, and things haven't even started yet," he said. "We don't even know what's going to happen once the games start and people actually start winning medals."
