US Justice Department, Activision Blizzard Settle Following Esport Wage Suppression Accusations | Push Square
On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department filed a complaint in the district of Columbia accusing embattled publisher Activision Blizzard of suppressing the wages and compensations of esports players, a matter which has reportedly already been settled.
The Justice Department alleged that Activision Blizzard limited competition for professional players of Call of Duty and Overwatch in esports leagues by implementing a «competitive balance tax». This would penalise a team if player compensations were to exceed a specific threshold (set by Activision Blizzard), effectively functioning as a salary cap.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Activision Blizzard said, in part, that: «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.»
Activision Blizzard has re-committed to «being a leader in the esports industry and creating opportunities for players to earn fair pay and benefits», and we will have to wait and see if that bears out.
In other Activision Blizzard news, the ongoing acquisition story appears to be coming to some kind of end, with UK regulators no longer concerned it will have a significant impact on console competition.
What do you think of this flash-in-the-pan legal distraction? Hire the best lawyers money can buy before descending into the comments section below.
Khayl Adam is the second best video game journalist Australia has ever produced, and his ambitions of world domination have (thus far) been curbed by the twin siren songs of strategy games and CRPGs. He has always felt an affinity with the noble Dachshund.
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