Activision Blizzard settles lawsuit over esports salary limits

Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard has been hit with yet another lawsuit – this time from the Department of Justice over alleged esports competitions and salaries.

The new lawsuit was filed by the DOJ on Monday and was promptly settled with the company for an undisclosed amount (via Reuters). The original complaint was actually for a “tax” that was applied to the salaries for leagues built around their Overwatch and Call of Duty games.

Activision said “the tax was never levied, and the leagues voluntarily dropped it from our rules in 2021” in a statement on the ruling.

They added, “We have always believed, and still believe, that the Competitive Balance Tax was lawful, and it did not have an adverse impact on player salaries.”

The settlement, which still has to be approved by a federal judge, also has Activision agreeing to not put any caps or limits on the salaries of esports players or teams.

Activision previously settled a $35 million lawsuit over alleged workplace misconduct, and the Federal Trade Commission still has their ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the company.

This is Niche Gamer Tech. In this column, we regularly cover tech and things related to the tech industry.

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