After a short hiatus, Thomas and Matt chat about the newest Olympic Sport: Just Dance and hash out their own version of an Olympic Esports games list. Activision Blizzard lands in legal trouble (again), and League of Legends potentially says goodbye to two of its most storied esports franchises.
Show Notes:
Our Olympic game list: Pokemon Unite, Gran Turismo, Just Dance, Rocket League, Clash Royale, Honor of Kings, Street Fighter, Marvel Snap, Game for Peace
"Activision settles with Justice Department for limiting esports players’ salaries": https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/3/23668568/activision-blizzard-doj-antitrust-suit-overwatch-league
"Call of Duty League returns to YouTube in non-exclusive deal. Here’s why that’s great for the CDL": https://dotesports.com/call-of-duty/news/cdl-returns-to-youtube-in-non-exclusive-deal
"VCT 2023 International Leagues live viewership performance — Americas takes early lead": https://escharts.com/news/vct-2023-international-leagues-live-viewership-performance-americas-takes-early-lead
"TSM pausing esports efforts in several titles, per sources": https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2023/03/31/Esports/tsm-esports-league-of-legends-championship-series.aspx
"MSG selling CLG’s League of Legends slot to NRG": https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Closing-Bell/2023/04/06/msg-counter-logic-gaming-league-of-legends-nrg-esports.aspx
Timestamps:
00:52 IOC’s Olympic Esports selections: Just Dance, chess.com, & more
6:54 Can we come up with a better list?
19:24 Activision Blizzard settles with the Justice Department
29:43 CDL returns to YouTube without exclusivity
32:45 World Series of Warzone returns
35:42 Valorant’s fractured esports viewership
45:38 League of Legends: CLG makes a franchise exit, TSM to follow?