Activision Blizzard sued by US Justice Department for ‘suppressing esports wages’
Activision Blizzard has been sued by the US Justice Department for alleged antitrust violations related to its esports business.
In a civil lawsuit filed on Monday, the Justice Department claimed rules imposed by Activision Blizzard have limited competition for players in its Overwatch and Call of Duty professional esports leagues and suppressed player wages.
The complaint, which was filed in the US district court for the district of Columbia, accuses Activision and the independently-owned teams in its esports leagues of implementing a “competitive balance tax” designed to penalise teams if player compensation exceeded a threshold set by the game maker.
In response to the today’s news, Activision Blizzard has provided VGC with the following statement.
“Activision Blizzard Esports is committed to being a leader in the esports industry and creating opportunities for players to earn fair pay and benefits. When we launched The Overwatch and Call of Duty Leagues, we wanted to create viable career opportunities for the players requiring minimum salaries and mandatory benefits as part of player contracts. As a league, we also wanted our products to be competitive, so we carefully designed and implemented the Competitive Balance Tax.
“We have always believed, and still believe, that the Competitive Balance Tax was lawful, and it did not have an adverse impact on player salaries. The tax was never levied, and the leagues voluntarily dropped it from our rules in 2021. We remain committed to a player ecosystem with fair pay and healthcare and continue to have the least restrictive player mobility compensation system across all of the major sports leagues.”
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