What Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard means for Overwatch League, Call of Duty League

Electronics giant Microsoft today announced that it will acquire Activision Blizzard for a $68.7 billion cash deal that brings games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch under the same roof proverbs like Halo and other legacy Xbox titles.

This acquisition means an ongoing changeover to many of Activision Blizzard’s most popular games, not to mention possible additions to Activision Blizzard. extremely popular Xbox GamePass. However, fans of Blizzard’s biggest e-sports tournaments are considering the way and questioning what this will mean for them.

The Call of Duty Alliance and Overwatch League of Legends has both had a rough couple of years due to the COVID-19 cancellations and various missteps by Activision Blizzard, but how will this acquisition change the future for these tournaments?

More money, less problems?

With Microsoft buying ATVI stock for $95 a share in cash, that’s an increase in available capital no matter how you look at it. Part of that could come to e-sports tournaments (later Halo Championship Series takes its share) and fans can see the improvements immediately.

More money can mean better production quality, better equipment, and higher quality broadcasts. Both leagues have lost significant income due to COVID-19, thanks to their massive popularity cancel live eventsand Microsoft’s investment could boost tournament profits.

2022 Call of Duty The League Season is scheduled to feature live events in Dallas, Minnesota, Toronto and New York for the season’s four pro leagues, while the destination for the CDL Knockout Qualifiers has yet to be announced. This means that eight organizations in the league will not host a live event this year, with several teams yet to host a home series since the tournament began. While this can make it difficult to organize events amid the COVID-19 pandemic, live events are an important element in esports and something like that. CoD The scene desperately needed more to get back to its peak.

Given the success of HCS so far, that could be an incentive for Microsoft to invest more in its e-sports ecosystem with CDL and OWL coming soon.

Sponsorship overhaul

In the wake of many lawsuits brought up at Activision Blizzard Due to a “brother” culture and allegations of misconduct in July 2021, many big-name sponsors withdrew their logos from OWL and CDL broadcasts. State Farm and Coca-Cola evaluate their relationship with OWL; Kellogg’s relationship is severed right away. ASTRO Gaming also disappeared from the CDL donor list.

With Microsoft overseeing Activision Blizzard’s culture during the transition, sponsors may be ready to return to tournaments and expansions in the Microsoft domain. Additionally, both tournaments will likely function as free ads for Microsoft stocks, like Xbox and GamePass, filling the notable void that the loss of sponsors has created.

Stable game

Current status of Call of Duty franchise has been fully documented. Many fans are still frustrated by the large number of game-breaking bugs in Battlefield and Vanguard, while the content for both games is lackluster. Combining these issues, many bugs and glitches persist for weeks.

If Microsoft can make the game playable on both consoles and PCs without bugs or game-breaking glitches, that would be a huge improvement over its current state.

The competitive community finds itself patiently waiting for competitive support, with Vanguard launch without a rated playlist. After last year’s disappointing League Play, fans had hoped for an Elo-based rating system, but the radio station has been silent on the matter. Also, CDL doesn’t have a third game mode because Control is still a mess.

With Halo Infinite’s A successful launch and dedication to a competitive player base shows Microsoft’s commitment to competition, Call of Duty could see an investment in a competitive landscape that it hasn’t had in years. A rated system that launches with the game, like Halo Infinite, would be a step in the right direction.

Revenue or reconstruction

Considering the company can throw enough money to buy Activision Blizzard, Microsoft is clearly adept at mopping up profits through its acquisitions. Unfortunately for these esports tournaments, that could mean major changes to make sure Microsoft is getting that money back.

While a cash flow could solve short-term problems, Microsoft likely won’t hesitate about cutting the fat, especially when it takes over completely in 2023. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil. Spencer said the merger was concentrate about the metaverse and the potential of mobile; That focus could very well place esports tournaments at the bottom of the food chain.

Possible cooperation

However, the reconstruction isn’t all bad news. When Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, it also acquired Major League Gaming (MLG), which Activision bought in 2016. This merges MLG and the Esports Engine, which runs Halo Championship Series Events. This opens the door wide open to the large-scale FPS events that defined the early years of professional esports.

Esports Engine co-founder Adam Apicella is dreamed of a “big open frame” event that brings together classic FPS titles. Others are calling comeback of MLG Pro Circuit. Microsoft could very well loosen the grip of third-party tournaments Activision Blizzard has held on its titles and give organizers more options to make their e-sports possible. accessible.