A huge $680 million lawsuit was filed against Activision Blizzard. In this case filed by an esports team, Activision Blizzard is accused of using monopoly power. It is a matter of curiosity how the case will end.
Activision Blizzard, developer of Call of Duty, one of the most popular games in the world, has made a remarkable announcement. case is on the agenda with. The plaintiff accuses Activision Blizzard, a team that has organized Call of Duty tournaments in the past, of having a monopoly in the esports world. Within the scope of the case, Activision Blizzard received full $680 million is wanted. So what happened to cause such a big disagreement?
Call of Duty has hosted huge third-party tournaments in the past. Especially OpTic Gaming was doing a good job in this regard. However, Activision Blizzard in 2019 made a decision and blocked third-party tournaments for Call of Duty. Instead, a system called “Call of Duty League” was implemented. Call of Duty League, which has become the only tournament for Call of Duty. It consisted of 12 teams and was collecting millions of dollars from participants. This is exactly what the lawsuit filed by the OpTic Texas esports team stems from.
They spent $27.5 million to participate in the Call of Duty League!
According to the case documents, esports teams that want to participate in the Call of Duty League, reached 27.5 million dollars Even though they made payments, they could not generate income to compensate for these expenses. Because Activision Blizzard does not accept revenue from items such as tickets and products. he bought 50 percent himself. In addition, the company has obtained various exclusive rights with various companies that have sponsorship agreements with esports teams. As such, Call of Duty has reached an unsustainable point for the esports world.
It is a matter of curiosity how the 680 million dollar lawsuit will conclude. However, Activision Blizzard has also similar topics Let us state that there is a lawsuit against him. Even US Department of Justice He also filed a lawsuit against the company.
Statement from Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard spokesperson delaney simmonsmade some statements regarding the case in question. The following statements were included in that statement:
The plaintiffs demanded that Activision pay them tens of millions of dollars to avoid this baseless lawsuit, and when their demands were not met, they filed a lawsuit. We will defend strongly against these claims, which have no material or legal basis. We are disappointed that these members of the esports community have introduced this practice that is devastating to team owners, players, fans and partners who have invested so much time and energy into the success of the Call of Duty League.
Source :
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/20/24078279/call-of-duty-league-monopoly-lawsuit-optic-gaming