by JR Cook - 6 years ago     show comments

Popular video game streaming service Twitch and the Overwatch League have waited until the last possible moment to unveil their partnership.

With league play starting Jan. 10, the two organizations announced their partnership on Jan. 9, just one day before. The league won’t release it’s pre-season numbers, but one has to wonder if this seemingly last-minute deal is an effort to boost viewership. No matter what, partnering with Twitch will allow Overwatch League to reach a much larger number of casual viewers than they would have otherwise.

The partnership will last for two seasons, and Twitch will offer streams in English Korean and French. Matches will not be streamed in Chinese, however, as Twitch’s deal with Overwatch League doesn’t include China. Twitch is also working with the league to develop rewards for OWL fans, including cheermotes and possible in-game items.

Just a few of the available Overwatch League in-game skins.

In addition to the streaming partnership, Overwatch League Comissioner Nate Nanzer announced that OWL in-game skins would become available on Jan. 9. Nanzer said previously that every player would receive enough “League Tokens” — the new in-game currency — to purchase one skin. Choose wisely, because there are over 300 new skins coming out in one day.

Nanzer promised a “media-blitz” in the week heading into the Overwatch League regular season and he didn’t disappoint.

Overwatch League matches start Jan. 10 and can be viewed on Overwatchleague.com, MLG and now Twitch.