Activision Blizzard Loses T-Mobile As Pro Overwatch, CoD Sponsor [UPDATED]

Activision Blizzard appears to have lost popular mobile phone carrier T-Mobile as a sponsor for its Call of Duty and Overwatch eSport events.

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Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.

Update 8/5/2021: As reported by Washington Post, Coca-Cola and State Farm have stated that they are reevaluating their relationship with Blizzard’s Overwatch League event, and the latter has requested that none of its advertisements run during the games this weekend.

Activision Blizzard is experiencing another major loss as T-Mobile has apparently stopped sponsoring Call of Duty and Overwatch esport events. T-Mobile is one of the largest cell phone service carriers in the United States. As Call of Duty and Overwatch both rev up for new entries, the lack of sponsors at subsequent events will be noteworthy.

Activision is currently battling a lawsuit that alleges the company has allowed a toxic work environment to run rampant. This suit includes allegations such as restricting women or minorities from moving up in the company, sexual harassment, and much more. In the weeks following the discovery of this lawsuit, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack and Blizzard’s senior people officer Jesse Meschuk have both left the company.

After the lawsuit, observers pointed out that former sponsor T-Mobile was nowhere to be seen at the Call of Duty League’s Open 5 Major, which saw over 100k viewers on Twitch. The event was held from July 29 – August 1, which was around the time Blizzard employees staged a walkout. As noted by Dexerto, players seemed to have taped over the T-Mobile logo on their jerseys and the logo was removed from the Call of Duty League (CDL) and Overwatch League (OWL) websites. T-Mobile had also abruptly ended a sweepstakes related to the CDL. The company has yet to officially comment on the matter, but all visible links and associations between Activision and T-Mobile seem to have vanished.

As of right now, no other sponsors have visibly distanced themselves from Activision. Activision’s stock has also dropped over 10% in the last month. Given some of Blizzard’s staff have stopped working altogether, the company is likely to continue to endure financial hardship. Activision Blizzard has largely been silent on social media following the lawsuit, apart from the initial statement in response to the suit. Most of the Activision Blizzard games have been largely silent as well.

It remains to be seen what the impetus was behind T-Mobile’s decision and what implications that decision might have for Activision Blizzard. Outlets such as The Gamer have vowed not to cover Activision games for the foreseeable future. Given this is a very new and recent story, only time will tell just how much this will impact Activision Blizzard in the end.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/activision-blizzard-tmobile-sponsor-lawsuit-overwatch-call-duty/