Activision Reportedly Buys Major League Gaming In $46M Acquisition

Activision Blizzard, the gaming giant behind the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft franchises, is believed to have purchased Major League Gaming (MLG), the e-sports organization, taking over "substantially all" of its assets in a $46 million acquisition. According to a report from eSports Observer, which says it learned of the deal through documents related to the sale, the deal was approved by MLG's board of directors on December 21st.

The last year has been filled with big game publishers getting directly involved with the world of e-sports, with Activision Blizzard announcing the formation of their own division in October, complete with former MLG co-founder Mike Sepso as Senior VP, while EA has just launched their Competitive Gaming Division (CGD) to handle their own franchises.

MLG has been struggling with growing debt over the last few years, so they were likely motivated to sell. Another blow came last year when the organization lost the rights to host the Call of Duty World League's Pro Division to the Electronic Sports League (ESL). Unfortunately, MLG stockholders have been left disappointed, as most of the $46 million is going to towards the organization's debt, with the rest not being enough to cover all shareholders during stock liquidation.

It's looking more and more like e-sports world is turning into one where publishers want to have direct control over tournaments involving their own games. While Activision has already been taking steps towards this, and EA is now doing the same, game companies Valve and Riot have already been running the leagues for their titles Dota 2 and League of Legends.

SOURCE eSports Observer