Activision Blizzard Buys MLG
In perhaps the first major gaming story of the year, unofficial sources claim Activision Blizzard has purchased the eSports company Major League Gaming, also known as MLG. The sale reportedly took place during a special meeting of the MLG Board of Directors on December 21, 2015 when the board approved an Asset Purchase Agreement by Activision Blizzard for $46 million.
Sources claim MLG shareholders received a letter outlining the sale, here's a snippet of that letter (credit to eSportsObserver)
Former MLG employee Scott Smith (aka Sir Scoots) has confirmed the sale notice in a tweet, though it seems even some shareholders had to wait until new years eve to find out about it:
I have Series B shares in MLG due to the Gotfrag buyout and I was only notified about this sale earlier today, not sure about others.
— Scott Smith (@SirScoots) January 1, 2016
The deal grants Activision Blizzard "substantially all" of MLG's assets, but does leave out certain bits. Most notable of these is Agora Games LLC, a studio that helps game developers build web based communities for their projects. The rump entity, aptly named 'MLG Legacy Holdings, Inc' will get to keep the remaining assets. These will likely be sold off at a later date as buyers are found.
More important than the fine print is what this deal means for the eSports community. First off, it shows Activision is serious about the eSports push they announced back in October 2015. Second, it shows just how poorly MLG has done in the past few years. Many attribute MLG's demise to their decision to launch MLG.TV, a paid streaming service, in 2013 rather than partnering with Twitch.tv which went on to dominate the streaming scene.
MLG under Activision is unlikely to maintain support for Counter Strike or other third party games
It remains to be seen how Activision will repurpose MLG, but its safe to expect coverage to be limited to their roster of games: Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Heroes of the Storm, HearthStone, Call of Duty, OverWatch, and perhaps Destiny.
This leaves a number of their currently supported titles in the lurch, including some of the most popular titles in eSports: League of Legends, Dota 2, Smite, and Counter Strike Global Offensive. Support for rival console titles like Smash Brothers and Halo also seem doubtful.
The MLG sale has sparked quite a bit of conversation on reddit. To read more gamer reactions, check out the /r/gaming reddit post.
