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Professional gamers Hector Rodriguez and Seth Abner said in an
antitrust lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court on Thursday
that Activision is unlawfully monopolizing the lucrative market
for Call of Duty leagues and tournaments.
Call of Duty, a first-person-shooter game first introduced in
2003, is one of the industry’s all-time best sellers and helped
propel Activision to billions of dollars in annual revenue, the
lawsuit said.
Activision said in a statement that it will "strongly defend
against these claims, which have no basis in fact or in law."
Activision said it refused a pre-lawsuit demand from the
plaintiffs for "tens of millions of dollars."
Microsoft acquired Activision last year for $69 billion, in a
deal that still faces U.S. Federal Trade Commission scrutiny.
Activision in 2016 paid $46 million to buy Major League Gaming,
which the lawsuit called the leading Call of Duty competition
organizer.
League and tournament play for Call of Duty was a "vibrant,
competitive product market" until 2019, when Activision moved to
open its own league and eliminate competition, the lawsuit said.
Activision then imposed “draconian” contract provisions on teams
and players, according to the lawsuit.
“Teams that did not (or could not) accede to Activision’s
extortionate demands were cut out of the professional Call of
Duty market entirely,” the lawsuit said. Rodriguez's company
HECZ LLC is also a plaintiff.
Last year, Activision settled a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice
Department accusing the company of suppressing gamers’ wages in
professional esports leagues.
Activision agreed to refrain from placing any caps on salaries.
It did not admit any wrongdoing.
The case is Hector Rodriguez, Seth Abner and HECZ LLC v.
Activision Blizzard Inc, U.S. District Court, Central District
of California, No. 2:24-cv-01287.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario)
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