"[3] On September 28, 2017, NRG Esports announced its official inaugural roster of eight players and head coach Bradford Rajani.

[12] In the offseason leading up to the 2019 Overwatch League season, the San Francisco Shock made several significant additions to their roster.

They acquired tank player Yoo "Smurf" Myeong-hwan through a trade, parting ways with Dante "Danteh" Cruz in the process.

[14] Furthermore, the Shock added damage player Gwon "Striker" Nam-ju, who had previously played for the Boston Uprising.

Led by standout performances from Super and ChoiHyoBin, the Shock put up a strong fight and even held a 3–2 lead at one point.

[23] San Francisco faced the sixth-seeded Atlanta Reign in the first round of the 2019 season playoffs, which followed a double-elimination format.

They displayed dominant performances, sweeping the London Spitfire, the Los Angeles Gladiators, the Hangzhou Spark, and the New York Excelsior.

[25] The San Francisco Shock swept the Vancouver Titans 4–0, securing the 2019 Overwatch League championship title.

Key points in the match included Architect's strategic Bastion positioning on Eichenwalde and ChoiHyoBin's crucial ultimate on Sigma during overtime on Watchpoint: Gibraltar.

[31][32] Three weeks later, Architect was transferred to the Hangzhou Spark, and the Shock signed flex support player Lee "Twilight" Joo-seok.

[33] The Shock won their franchise's second midseason tournament title on May 24, 2020, after defeating the Florida Mayhem in the North American May Melee finals, 4–2.

[34] Despite a loss to the Paris Eternal in the semifinals of the Summer Showdown,[35] the Shock continued their strong performance and clinched the top seed in the Countdown Cup, ultimately winning the tournament by defeating the Philadelphia Fusion in the finals.

[44] On October 10, they faced the Seoul Dynasty in the Grand Finals, and the Shock claimed a 4–2 victory to win their second consecutive Overwatch League championship.

[52] The Shock qualified for the season playoffs after taking down the Toronto Defiant on September 5 in the Western play-in tournament.

[54] Falling to the lower bracket after the loss, San Francisco defeated the Philadelphia Fusion and Chengdu Hunters in the following days.

[57] After the 2021 Overwatch League season, the San Francisco Shock made significant changes to their roster, retaining only Viol2t while parting ways with the rest of the team.

They introduced five rookies to their lineup, including Jung "Kilo" Jin-woo, Kim "Proper" Dong-hyun, Samuel "s9mm" Santos, Colin "Coluge" Arai, and Oh "FiNN" Se-jin.

[70] Proper received numerous accolades for his performance in the regular season, being commentated as a Role Star for damage, being named the Alarm Rookie of the Year, and earning the Most Valuable Player award.

The name "Shock" and the logo were chosen to represent the large amounts of seismic energy that are present in the San Francisco area.

"We took great care to choose a logo and identity that would both represent the attributes and traditions of San Francisco, yet at the same time speak to the future of sports and the Shock’s ambitions to take its place as a fixture next to the Bay Area’s championship sports teams," Andy Miller, CEO of NRG Esports, said in a statement.

On February 26, 2018, the Shock formally announced their academy team would compete under the "NRG Esports" name for Overwatch Contenders North America.