'Overwatch' Has Become More Popular Than 'League of Legends' At Korean Internet Cafes, What Does This Mean?

League of Legends is not going to die out because Overwatch is getting popular. Still, that doesn’t mean League is always going to be king of the mountain; you can’t be the world’s most popular game forever. According to recent information released by popular Korean PC Bangs, or internet cafes, League is no longer the most played game. It held the title for four years, but another game has claimed the belt.

Since Overwatch’s May release, the game has quickly shot to the top of the most played games at PC Bangs. GettoGold, which manages over 40 percent of the PC Bang’s in South Korea, uploaded what games are being played at their cafes, and Overwatch is currently beating League by less than half a percent. That might not sound like much, but it’s a pretty big deal. League had a 43.6 percent market share when Overwatch was released, and now it’s down to 27.9 percent.

Korean PC Bangs are unlike anything we have in the west. It’s less common to play games at home, and many gamers instead choose to play exclusively at computers somewhere else. It’s not out of the ordinary to see players spend whole days locked into one computer, only getting up to grab food or use the bathroom. Vice has a great documentary about Korean PC Bang culture , which follows a bunch of teenagers who play in the Bangs.

There’s a lot of discussion as to why Overwatch is eclipsing League of Legends . The solo queue changes Riot implemented a month ago have had a major effect on Korean League gamers. Koreans have always valued solo queue, holding it in much higher regard than other regions. Pros have boot camps in Korea because the competition is so much fiercer and the quality of games are better.

Since Riot’s change to Dynamic queue, things have changed. Players feel higher ELO queues have lost a lot of their quality with the long wait times and “autofill” being added to ranked play.

Players have been rushing to reddit to say that “look Overwatch is destroying League!” League and Riot are doing just fine, Overwatch still just has that new game smell. Once Overwatch releases its ranked mode in July, we’ll know if it has the staying power to actually take down the giant of Summoner's Rift.