Justice Department Files Lawsuit and Proposed Consent Decree to Prohibit Activision Blizzard from Suppressing Esports Player Compensation

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision), one of the world’s largest video game developers and publishers, for imposing rules that limited competition for players in Activision’s Overwatch and Call of Duty professional esports leagues and suppressed the wages of esports players in these leagues in violation of the Sherman Act.