Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues has welcomed Coca-Cola as the official non-alcoholic beverage of the Overwatch League and other Overwatch properties.
The multi-year deal will be the first for the Overwatch League that utilises the developer’s entire control over the IP of the game.
Coca-Cola will receive exclusivity with all of the 20 franchises that have bought into the Overwatch League, as well as Overwatch Contenders, Overwatch World Cup, BlizzCon, and collegiate events.
Details regarding how Coca-Cola will choose to promote itself through this deal have yet to be disclosed, but will be revealed in the coming weeks.
OMEN by HP, Intel, and T-Mobile all sponsor the Overwatch League itself, with the individual franchises each having their own unique sponsors and partners. The league announced a multi-year deal with sports merchandising company Fanatics late last year.
The Overwatch League is aiming to have its franchises compete from home venues – across North America, Europe, and Asia – by its third season. Season 2 will be marked as progress for this initiative, with Dallas Fuel, Atlanta Reign, and Los Angeles Valiant all hosting matches in their home cities from April.
Coca-Cola was involved with League of Legends in 2016 and EA’s FIFA through 2017 & 2018. PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew has been more prominent in the industry, sponsoring ESL’s MDL, Activision’s CWL, and a number of organisations.
Esports Insider says: Activision Blizzard obviously has a great sales team as it keeps managing to bring in major companies in big ways. It’ll be interesting to see how Coca-Cola decides to integrate itself into the league in a way that’ll prove this deal as being fruitful.