The well-known Call of Duty tournament organiser, GameBattles, is going to shut down operations in January. This development was announced on the organiser’s Twitter account earlier this week, to the surprise of the CoD community.
GameBattles Community,
After careful consideration, we have decided to shut down the GameBattles platform and service as of January 15th, 2024.
If you have any questions about your account or the shutdown, please visit our support site: https://t.co/M5YzDe4CWy
— GameBattles (@GameBattles) November 13, 2023
GameBattles hosted ladders, leagues, and tournaments for the competitive scene in Call of Duty. This organization was also responsible for multiple tournament series once MLG was acquired by Activision Blizzard back in 2016. After the $46m acquisition, GameBattles was responsible for hosting tournaments across multiple Activision Blizzard titles such as Overwatch and Call of Duty: Mobile.
Unfortunately, GameBattles will not continue with its operations following the merger of Activision Blizzard with Microsoft. After 20 years of service, the platform will shut down on January 15, 2024. Thus ending the GameBattles community and what could possibly be an era of eSports. Why? Because GameBattles was a platform that allowed players to easily meet their match thanks to its ladders and top-tier gaming talent access.
Chris Evans, the Operations Supervisor at GameBattles said the following in a statement:
“Our team learned yesterday that Activision Blizzard has decided to shut down Game Battles, the last remaining branch of MLG. The entire team at GameBattles has been notified that we’re all being let go as part of the closure. […] I couldn’t have asked for a better year to end on. Supporting Warzone/WSOW earlier this year has genuinely been a dream come true, and I’m proud to have been involved in the first ever in-person Global Final for the WSOW. […] There’s so much untapped potential with MLG, GameBattles and the future of Esports. I hope one day both MLG & GB get the attention & internal support they deserve.”
Unfortunately, this could be the end of MLG as a brand as Activision Blizzard is straying away from eSports as a whole. This latest cut in Activision Blizzard’s competitive gaming scene follows the exodus of the Overwatch League. Now, it’s up in the air whether or not Activision Blizzard franchises will continue to have any focus on eSports or not. Whatever the case might be, you can stay tuned here for the news as they come.