Overwatch claims eSports Game of the Year award at SXSW

Blizzard’s immensely popular competitive shooter, Overwatch, has won eSports Game of the Year at the SXSW Gaming Awards.

The game’s lead story writer, Michael Chu, was in attendance to accept the award for Overwatch, which held off competition from Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Gears of War 4, Killer Instinct: Season 3 and Street Fighter V to claim the title. The award was designed to highlight ‘the online game that has the best competitive scene, or potential to grow one, and most entertainment value’.

The game’s massive player base and the fact that later this year Blizzard will kick off its big eSports push for the game with the Overwatch League surely played a part in its win. While a handful of other tournaments have cropped up in the meantime, the Overwatch League signifies Blizzard’s major involvement in the game’s growth as an eSport. A professional player combine, regional teams, and contract stability are big parts of that goal, which aims to maintain the game’s position as an eSport for years to come.