Twitch has announced a two-year worldwide collaboration with game developer and publisher Blizzard Entertainment. The deal will see much of Blizzard’s esports content exclusively streamed through the Twitch platform through 2018.
The deal will additionally see Twitch Prime gamers able to obtain special perks for their favourite Blizzard games, as showcased by the “Gold Lootbox” for Overwatch users that was distributed yesterday.
As the first part of this broadcasting deal, Blizzard is licensing third-party streaming-platform rights to Twitch for a range of Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, World of Warcraft, Starcraft II and Overwatch esports content.
The deal includes the following programs and comprises more than 20 major individual events:
- Heroes of the Storm Global Championship (HGC)
- StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS Circuit)
- Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT)
- Hearthstone Global Games (HGG)
- World of Warcraft Arena Championship
- Overwatch APEX League
- Overwatch Premier Series
We founded Twitch as a gaming platform heavily based on our community’s reaction to games like Blizzard’s StarCraft II,” commented Kevin Lin, COO, Twitch. “Since then, our large, but tight-knit community, our constantly evolving suite of interactive features, and a native emote-driven chat language celebrated by viewers enable us to support and grow Blizzard esports in a manner that best serves our collective fans. This includes providing Blizzard fans with exclusive in-game content for those who subscribe to Twitch Prime, another defining and cherished component of our brand.”
“We’ve had great experiences and a long history of working with Twitch, and we’re thrilled that this landmark agreement with them will help us bring some of the most exciting esports action in the world to Twitch fans and everyone who follows Blizzard esports,” said Frank Pearce, CPO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Our esports communities are vital to us. We know there are millions of people out there who love Blizzard esports as much as we do, and we’re committed to making sure they’ll be able to cheer on their favourite players in all of their favourite Blizzard games for a long time to come.”
Esports Insider says: Two juggernauts joining forces. Notably, there’s no mention of the Overwatch League. But why would there be, broadcasting rights are going to be worth billions, right? Joking aside – another broadcasting deal this year and it’s Twitch securing Blizzard esports for the foreseeable future. Congratulations to both parties.
