Activision Blizzard is accused of anti-competitive practices in the e-sports sector. A former player criticizes him in particular for his “ illegal monopoly » on professional tournaments Call of Duty.
Before the creation of the Call of Duty League in 2018 by Activision Blizzard, competitions were organized by independent third parties through an open structure where any team could register and participate. The publisher drastically changed the rules, limiting the tournament to 12 teams and only organizing one event each year.
Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez, CEO of OpTic Gaming, whose company owned and managed the Call of Duty League team OpTic Texas, has decided to indict the video game giant for unfair monopoly. Former player Seth “Scump” Abner, a member of the same team now retired, joined him.
A monopoly 100% illegal » according to the plaintiffs
They first denounce the amount demanded by Activision from the teams in order to appear in the league. They had to pay $27.5 million for a franchise spot, in addition to returning 50% of their revenue from merchandise and ticket sales to the company. The ability of players to secure their own sponsorship deals would also have been restricted.
The publisher has also reportedly banned members of the Call of Duty League from participating in other tournaments. In 2020, players would have been forced to sign an agreement binding them to the rules of the league without the possibility of having them examined by legal counsel, under penalty of being excluded from their team just before the start of the competition, also denounced the plaintiffs.
They deplore a “100% illegal” monopoly on the part of Activision Blizzard, demanding $680 million in damages. “ Activision used this market power to eliminate competition and force team owners and players to exit the market entirely or accept draconian anti-competitive terms that were only favorable to Activision and its monopoly. “, continues the complaint.
Not a first for Activision Blizzard
This is not the first time that the publisher has faced such accusations. Last year, it settled a dispute with the US Department of Justice over a tax imposed on the Call of Duty League and Overwatch League. It allowed fines to be imposed on teams paying their players above a certain amount, and redistributed these fines to other participating teams. A practice which risked lowering players’ salaries, according to the American authorities.
For its part, Activision Blizzard describes these allegations as “ unfounded “. “ We are disappointed that these members of the esports community are filing this lawsuit which is disruptive to the team owners, players, fans, and partners who have invested so much time and energy into the success of the Call of Duty League », criticizes the company bought by Microsoft for 68.7 billion dollars.
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Call of Duty: Mobile is a smooth first-person shooter with good gameplay. The developers have particularly worked on adapting the “classic” CoD environment to a touch screen. The controls are intuitive and comfortable. The only game modes offered are multiplayer, which requires an internet connection.
Source : The Verge
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