'We 100 percent plan to keep running MLG as it has been, including building around the existing communities, and continuing work with other publishers to build out their e-sports strategies,' says Sepso. MLG, meanwhile, works with many publishers in addition to Activision - and that's not expected to change following the acquisition. Last year Activision made big strides in expanding its e-sports reach for its own games, launching major new competitions for titles like Call of Duty and digital card game Hearthstone, with tournament prizes totalling millions of dollars. 'Being able to bring the band back together is awesome for me.' 'He's a critical part of this whole plan,' says Sepso.

As part of the deal, current MLG CEO Sundance DiGiovanni - who founded the company with Sepso - will be staying on board to continue running operations. 'Being able to bring the band back together is awesome.'Īctivision's new division, meanwhile, is being headed up by former ESPN CEO Steve Bornstein, as well as MLG co-founder Mike Sepso, who serves as the division's vice president. Since 2013, the company has operated a premium streaming service (mlg.tv), where fans can watch broadcasts of major tournaments. The company has organized tournaments and competitive leagues for games from nearly every major game developer and publisher, ranging from StarCraft and League of Legends to Halo and Mortal Kombat. MLG was founded in 2002, and since then has turned into arguably the most important organization in competitive gaming. Meanwhile its technology will be used to create a new e-sports broadcast network for Activision. 'Our acquisition of Major League Gaming's business furthers our plans to create the ESPN of e-sports,' Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement. MLG will continue to operate much as it has, according to Activision, but with the added resources that come from being part of the biggest gaming publisher.

Back in October Activision Blizzard announced a brand new division focused on e-sports, and today the division is making its first big announcement: Activision has acquired the business of pioneering e-sports organization Major League Gaming.

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