Overwatch's two new theme songs won't make your playlist, but they're perfectly fitting for its post-OWL esports matches

Overwatch hero Lucio wall riding in his neon green outfit in a bright favella — (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Instead of calling on a bunch of modern pop artists like Riot does for League of Legends' esports songs, Blizzard is going for a traditional sports broadcast vibe for its two new Overwatch Championship Series (OWCS) themes.

It's fitting for an esports league that is trying to follow up the NFL-like Overwatch League (OWL) that collapsed last year. OWCS is a much smaller scale thing, but the songs suggest Blizzard still wants it to sonically live up to the original pitch for OWL. Both tracks are available to listen to on Rolling Stone. The "OWCS Anthem" will play when a team wins a match, and "OWCS Overtime" will play alongside the action and commentary.

Both tracks are miles away from the catchy themes that Riot has for Worlds. I remember leaving 2019's "Phoenix" on repeat, but aside from it sounding massive, it didn't necessarily make me think of professional players smacking creeps on a three-lane map. OWCS' themes are riffing on iconic sports tracks like the one that plays for Fox's NFL broadcasts; you can practically hear the roar of a crowd somewhere in the background.

PRODUCTS

Tyler has covered videogames and PC hardware for 15 years. He regularly spends time playing and reporting on games like Diablo 4, Elden Ring, Overwatch 2, and Final Fantasy 14. While his specialty is in action RPGs and MMOs, he's driven to cover all sorts of games whether they're broken, beautiful, or bizarre.