The Houston Outlaws rebrand announcement has fans fuming. But is the issue with their bold decision or simply bad Press Release etiquette?
THE OVERWATCH LEAGUE CONCEPTION & DEATH
Blizzard Entertainment, the creator of the widely acclaimed first-person shooter Overwatch, established the Overwatch League (OWL) in 2017 with the inaugural season beginning on January 10, 2018. The league launched with 12 teams, and by the 2022 season, 20 teams had competitively played.
Following a two-thirds majority vote of OWL franchisees, an announcement was made on November 8, 2023, that Blizzard would terminate the league and, “will be focusing on building our vision of a revitalized esports program.” (1)
Rumors have surfaces that the OWL may see 2024 through a third-party operator, but this speculation cannot be substantiated at this time.
THE HOUSTON OUTLAWS HISTORY
Founded on September 20, 2017, The Houston Outlaws were one of the twelve original leagues competing in the OWL. Originally owned by OpTic Gaming, the team was sold to the Beasley Media Group, LLC in November 2019. Beasley Media Group, LLC is a subsidiary of Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. (BBGI), a “multiplatform media company providing advertising and digital marketing solutions across the United States.” (2) They proudly service 59 radio stations and 2 professional esports teams: The Houston Outlaws and Team AXLE (formerly AXLE-R8), a Rocket League team that disbanded earlier this year. BBGI also runs CheckpointXP, an esports and gaming news website.
During their run, The Houston Outlaws lost in the Lower Finals in the 2022 season and made it to the Grand Finals in 2023. Sadly, following the news that OWL was terminated, the Houston Outlaws officially released a video announcing their rebranding decision.
NEW DIRECTION
With the closure, the team faced two options: disband entirely or rebrand fully.
In a video statement released on November 10, Choi “JunkBuck” Jae-won and Hyung-seok “Bischu” Kim jointly announced the decision to rebrand from the Houston Outlaws to Outlaws Entertainment; the silent Carlos Ivan, sitting dead center, did not go unnoticed. The transcription of their shared statement is as follows:
“First, let me say, thank you for coming. Now that the Overwatch League is officially over, I’m sure you have many, many questions. Let’s start with this: we are no longer competing in the Overwatch league. But that doesn’t mean the Outlaws is[sic] done. We’re shifting our focus to Content and entertainment.”
https://twitter.com/Outlaws/status/1723027315876102575
The scripted scene portraying a press release conference attempts to bring levity to the transformative news. When asked by a faux news reporter if there will be any Outlaw Esports in the future, Bischu responded that they are not ruling anything out yet. “Look, we love esports, but we’re looking to evolve into our next step.”
And with that, they introduced the main cast of Outlaws Entertainment: Carlos Ivan, Majinzuu, Tori Pareno, and SoDaisyyy. They followed this news with a post advertising a Q&A session on their Discord.
As of November 16, their new YouTube channel @Outlawsentertainment has one subscriber, @Outlawsplays has eight, and @Outlawsreacts has 25. In contrast, @OutlawsOW, the channel now referred to as “Houston Outlaws Legacy,” has a solid 55.3K subscribers.
UNWELCOME RECEPTION
It should come as no surprise that removing the entire Outlaws team and replacing them with streamers who do not play Overwatch did not go over very well with fans. Not only that, but Lorenzo “Lord Enzo” Rodriguez, the Social Media Manager for the Outlaws, as well as the new cast of Outlaws Entertainment, have responded to the outcry by blocking fans and responding in a disrespectful manner.
Twitter commenter Lionel @GiantOmelette shares an example of such a comment.
“A lot of the posts were deleted. Here’s one of the streamers demonstrating a total lack of understanding of the Outlaws fan base by saying that you have to live in Texas to be a real Outlaws fan.”
The response referenced comes from Majinzuu. “[Y]ou really not an outlaws fan cuz any outlaws fan would’ve said 5:06 pm because of Texas time. Smh”
The overall feeling many fans have expressed is disappointment at how the situation was handled by the Outlaws staff and crew.
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT’S TAKE
Esports journalist, Liz Richardson @mizliz_ sums up the feelings succinctly with her tweets on November 11.
“I’ve been here since before the start of OWL. I’ve witnessed every scandal. Watched the Vancouver Titans fumble the Runaway bag, documented the LA Valiant’s downfall from beloved to “whatever. China?” Nobody has demolished fan goodwill like the Houston Outlaws this weekend. Pivoting from a beloved OW org to a content creation org is very bold. To not include a single iota of Overwatch in that pivot – alienating a passionate fanbase – is maybe not a great choice. Watching them block fans with valid concerns is a car crash I can’t stop watching. Nothing against the creators and I think people should leave them alone. But whoever’s managing this disaster. Hoo boy. It takes a LOT for me to say I’ve never seen anything like this.”
THEORIES ARISE
Many have now vocally questioned Lord Enzo’s seemingly unbridled creative freedom, such as Anas @anas0_ali who states, “It needs to be revealed how this one stranger suddenly has so much power over an entire organization. Like he single handedly ruined this entire franchise with his “creative direction”.”
And further theories are beginning to brew. As Cerberus Apologist @SlappyofMalley puts it, “I can’t imagine this isn’t a tax move. There’s no way they’re not gonna write off six or seven digit losses this fiscal year and then shut it down.”
INTERNAL LOOK
When asked for his opinion, Jordan “Jordy” Garcia, Game Haus’s own Social Media Director, responded:
“[f]rom a social media standpoint, blocking fans who rightfully questioned their decisions was undoubtedly unprofessional. For an organization that was established in Overwatch and is transitioning beyond that, the Outlaws’ message on social media needs to be transparent and they need to explain their approach every step of the way.”
He goes on to further illustrate the poorly thought-out approach from Outlaw’s team. “To me, it didn’t make sense why the Outlaws’ manager would go out of their way to publicly block, not just a few, but dozens if not hundreds of OWL mutuals.” Jordy estimates the account has lost almost 5,000 followers since the announcement, falling from their over 140,000 followers they had built since their inception in 2017. “I still don’t understand the motivation behind it.”
Jordy attempted to make sense of the overall business decision. “To play devil’s advocate, the move to go all-in on content creation is probably the best move in 2023. [T]he change was inevitable from an owner group that was seemingly only in the OWL for the monetary value. I think this was an organization that was trying to salvage as much as it could from a dissolving league while profiting as much as it could from a booming industry like content creation.”
Ultimately, “The big issue was that in every step that the ‘new-age Outlaws’ have taken to try and be a household name, they never respected what got them there in the first place.”
CONCLUSION
With such a strong negative response and vocal backlash from fans, Outlaws’ Twitter released a written response on Nov 13, most likely hoping it would put an end to the discussion on their decision.
“Outlaw nation, it’s clear that the new direction for the organization comes as a surprise to many of you. The decision to move into dedicated content creation was not something we took lightly.
The Outlaws – as an organization – was incredibly dedicated to the Overwatch league and to our fans. However, with the dissolution of the League (which was not our decision), we had to decide whether to stay together and forge a new direction as Outlaws, or dissolve along with the OWL.
Content and entertainment are not new to us and serve as an avenue we see as a natural brand extension and connection to the larger gaming community.
We are thankful for all the fans who have supported us throughout the years and have expressed excitement for our next chapter.
Outlaws is a brand that wants to entertain and bring laughter into people’s lives. We wish the entire community well and understand that our new content and approach will not appeal to everyone, and that is okay. But we will not be an organization that condones hatred and bullying, whether it be directed toward our creators, staff, or other fans. Our world needs and deserves better.
Thank you for being a part of Outlaws Nation.
Everyone is welcome to join us for what comes next.”
Lord Enzo continues to interact with Outlaw fans in an attempt to rectify the less-than-stellar rebranding announcement, and the success of this outreach is yet to be determined.
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CITATIONS
(1) James Fudge 2023, The Esports Advocate, accessed November 16 2023, https://esportsadvocate.net/2023/11/teams-vote-to-exit-overwatch-league/
(2) Beasley Media Group, LLC 2023, Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., accessed November 16 2023, https://bbgi.com/who-we-are/