We at ESS have been hearing a lot of chatter about a possible MLG buyout by gaming juggernaut Activision. Let’s look at the rumors:
Recent reports cite a late December meeting during which MLG’s Board of Directors allegedly approved an agreement that would sell a majority of the company’s assets to Activision Blizzard.
The reported changes also see MLG CEO Sundance DiGiovanni replaced by Greg Chisholm, MLG’s CFO.
MLG has been showing signs of strain recently. After losing the role of tournament runner for the Call of Duty World League to rival organization ESL, the company has worked to secure a foothold in other FPS eSports titles like CS:Go and Halo, but it appears the company couldn’t bounce back fast enough. MLG has been a leader in eSports tournament productions over the years, and built an eSports specific arena in Ohio, and also announced it would build an eSports facility in China in 2017. However, the company’s broadcasting platform, MLG.tv, still fought for the competitive gaming audience against rival Twitch.tv despite broadcasting major LAN events and weekly online tournaments.
So what could be next for MLG and its role in competitive gaming? One of the co-founders of MLG, Mike Sepso, is currently the SVP of eSports at Activision Blizzard. There are still connections to the MLG of old, despite the alleged departure of the company’s CEO. DiGiovanni has not taken to his public social media account since December 22nd, the day after the alleged agreement.
As for the eSports players and fans, the reactions have been positive so far:
Apparently Activision bought MLG? Not sure what to think, but hopefully it brings bigger better things for my friends there 🙂
— Solid Jake (@SolidJakeGG) December 31, 2015
My guess with the Activision/Blizzard buying out MLG is that they’re going all out to promote competitive. They’re gonna build streamers.
— AES ZuRp (@PHiZZURP) January 1, 2016
I remember a certain someone saying things about MLG/Twitch, the state of CoD, in late 2014. A year later~ interesting how things turned out
— EnVy ACHES (@PATTYCACHES) January 1, 2016
…and finally-
To address the MLG/Activision acquisition rumors: I have no idea what’s going on or what will happen. Will just have to wait for more info.
— Nadeshot (@Nadeshot) January 1, 2016
As of December 31st, 2015, this is the highest rated post on the subject on the r/CodCompetitive reddit:
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