Leagues saw significantly less revenue during lockdowns

Yet you’d think e-sports teams would be in a better financial position than ever before: according to Insider Intelligence, there are about 29.6 million monthly viewers of e-sports in 2022 – an 11.5 percent increase over 2021. In fact, however, according to the Jacob Wolf Report, the debt has accumulated over the past pandemic years, when teams would normally have made their main revenue through tickets to on-site events. This, he said, was largely eliminated because of the lockdowns and contact restrictions. Because of this, Activision had already allowed Blizzard to keep payments outstanding longer (until fall 2022).

Even less revenue: Sponsors and advertisers said goodbye to Activision Blizzard

In addition to the lack of income from ticket sales, some sponsors had also jumped off. In addition, apparently due to a lawsuit for sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard many advertising partners have said goodbye, including large companies such as Coca-Cola and Kelloggs. Overwatch does not have a single advertising partner as of the end of May 2022, while Call of Duty has just four.

Deadline for settlement of debt could be postponed

According to the league’s internal sources, talks are underway to delay the deadline for paying off the debt by another two years until 2024, according to the Jacob Wolf Report. Activision Blizzard’s former Head of E-Sports Brandon Snow had even suggested that the debt be forgiven entirely before his resignation – but Activision Blizzard would not comment on possible measures for dealing with the mountain of debt when asked, according to the Jacob Wolf Report. Wolf voluntarily left the company in February to take a position with Formula 1. Activision Blizzard is to be acquired by Microsoft in mid-2023 – how the new owner wants to advance the e-sports leagues, is so far unclear.