Activision Blizzard, the developers behind Call of Duty, Hearthstone and many more eSports titles, have announced that they have created a division purely devoted to eSports, rounding off an amazing 2015 with a strong push for next year.
While details are scarce around what the division is planning - be it just supporting their current titles, creating a new league or even more - what isn't scarce is who is going to be in charge. Steve Bornstein, former CEO of ESPN and the NFL Network, and Mike Sepso, former president of Major League Gaming are being trusted with the newest un-named brand.
Speaking in a pre-prepared statement, Bornstein highlighted just how large the eSports industry is, stating that “last year, Activision Blizzard created entertainment that was viewed and played by over 150 million people for more than 13 billion hours”.
Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard, stated that both Bornstein and Sepso were the best choices for the job, also revealing that one of the main focuses of this division was to be "celebrating our players and their unique skill, dedication and commitment"
This year has been a turning point for eSports coverage within mainstream media, with Heroes of the Storm receiving coverage from ESPN2, The International reaching $18 Million in prize money - almost double of what Wimbledon offers - as well as the Quarter Finals of the League of Legends World Championships being broadcasted by the BBC.
With eSports continuing to grow at a rapid rate, who knows where the industry will be in a year’s time.
What do you think? Will these two bring brilliant things to us next year? What do you think the company has planned? Let us know down below in the comments your opinion
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