WASHINGTON, D.C — The U.S. Department of Justice has settled its antitrust lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, Inc, where it alleged the games publisher was suppressing wages earned by players competing in both the "Overwatch" and "Call of Duty" esports leagues.
According to the original complaint filed Monday, the Justice Department took specific issue with a "Competitive Balance Tax," arguing that it "penalized teams for paying esports players above a certain threshold and limited player compensation in these leagues."
In a statement released to Reuters, Activision Blizzard said the tax was "never levied" and voluntarily dropped from league rules in October 2021, a fact corroborated by the Justice Department's complaint.
"We have always believed, and still believe, that the Competitive Balance Tax was lawful," the statement reads in part. "it did not have an adverse impact on player salaries."
Reuters also reports that under the settlement, the games publisher agreed to refrain from putting any caps or limits on salaries of esports players or teams. However, the settlement still needs to be approved by a federal judge.
With the growing popularity of esports nationwide, the lawsuit was part of a larger effort by the Justice Department to crack down on anticompetitive business practices.
“Video games and esports are among the most popular and fastest growing forms of entertainment in the world today, and professional esports players—like all workers—deserve the benefits of competition for their services,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division in a statement published to the Justice Department's website. “Activision’s conduct prevented that from happening.”
