According to Statista reports published in January 2021, the Brazilian gaming and esports markets generated 31 million Brazilian reals (US $5.4 million) in revenue in 2018 (Statista 2021) and this is expected to reach US $1.17 billion by 2023 (Statista 2021). Marketing and media reports tend to promote Brazil as a promising land for esports, with masses of highly engaged people. It should be noted that, following Blizzard Entertainment’s decision, when referring to the “region” or South America (SA), this most commonly means Brazil and does not reflect other countries or their players’ experiences. Since infrastructural, socioeconomic, and cultural aspects influence the agency of individuals, a critical examination is needed to evaluate public reports on the country as well as data from the official regulating committees, which measure technology, accessibility, and digital inclusion in the nationwide context. It explains how PC-based play in particular has had difficulty thriving in this cultural context, suggesting that some arguments propagated within esports practices might not translate to reality or having a misinterpretation about how and why structures matter if the aim is broadening and diversifying esports scenario. For the majority of the game’s global audiences, this came as a surprise-why were the owners removing one of the largest and most active populations from professional competition? This chapter provides possible explanations for the above by analyzing perceptions of Overwatch in Brazil via its public media materials before the close-down. In February 2021, Blizzard Entertainment decided to close the South American branch of its professional Overwatch.
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