Overwatch League pro gamers guaranteed minimum $50k salary

Activision Blizzard's Overwatch League is hoping to lend the world of professional competitive gaming stability through the establishment of city-based franchises and player contracts that will turn esports into a steadier career for the very best.

Earlier in July, the first seven teams were announced, which will be formed by the best players of Blizzard's hit hero shooter, based in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Miami/Orlando, Shanghai and Seoul.

Now a little more has been revealed about exactly how the league will work, and how much its players will be paid.

In a post on the Overwatch League site, Blizzard revealed that teams will sign players to one-year contracts with the option to extend for an additional year.

They'll be paid a minimum annual salary of $50,000 (£38,000) which will presumably go up for the best-performing players. Teams will also have to distribute at least 50% of any performance bonus directly to players.

Teams taking part in the first season of Overwatch League will be competing for a slice of a $3.5m prize pool, with a minimum of $1 million going to the first season's eventual champions.

Each team will be required to have at least six contracted players, no more than 12 in total and they don't need to be local to the team's base of operations. During each season, teams will provide housing and practice facilities for their players.

There will be a signing window for the league between 1 August and 30 October, 2017. This indicates that the league itself won't begin until after this date, likely at Blizzcon on 3 - 4 November.

Blizzard says it considers each of Overwatch's 30 million+ players to be free agents so long as they're of age, but don't get your hopes up. Blizzard will be using in-game stats to compile a scouting report to aid teams in assembling players.

Overwatch is a shooter with 25 (as of today) unique playable characters. Released in May 2016, the game has gone on to become a phenomenon, amassing a huge player-base and remaining relevant with regular updates and new features.