This weekend's Overwatch League matches are cancelled following California lockdown

(Image credit: Activision)

Earlier this week, Blizzard cancelled all Overwatch League live events until at least the end of May due to the spread of coronavirus, opting for an online only alternative. But in light of a newly announced California lockdown, ordered by the California Governor earlier today, even those matches won't go ahead.

"For the overall safety and well-being of our players, teams and staffs, and in alignment with California’s statewide ‘stay at home’ order, we are canceling this weekend’s scheduled Overwatch League competition," Blizzard's short statement read. "We will share more details on match rescheduling and look forward to returning to action soon."

While the matches were scheduled to take place online, three of the participating teams are California based: San Francisco Shock, Los Angeles Valiant and Los Angeles Gladiators. In order to compete in the matches, these teams - and presumably all related staff - would need to breach the terms of the lockdown order, which requires California residents to stay at home until further notice, except for essential needs.

All of our games industry-related coronavirus updates can be found collated here. For more information on the Covid-19 coronavirus, visit the Centers for Disease Control for updates in North America, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, or the World Health Organization.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.