The bosses of Activision Blizzard have made a decision: The company will grow into an eSport sector and is receiving prominent leaders.
eSport is the sport of tomorrow
Activision Blizzard has now announced that one of the most influential game developers in the world will continue to grow. The company will now open its own department that will focus exclusively on eSports.
For the top positions, they have selected the best possible personnel: the chairman will be Steve Bornstein, the former president of the sports channel ESPN. The vice president position will be held by Mike Sepso, one of the co-founders of MLG, the largest organizer of eSport tournaments.
They have essentially brought someone in from “the old media” who knows how to build a structure to market, monetize, and popularize sports. And they have brought in someone who has a similar skill set but comes directly from eSports.
Activision Blizzard sees big things in the future of professional gaming and believes that digital sports could eventually pose serious competition to real sports, but so far it still lacks widespread media attention.
“Every weekend, millions of people watch football games without ever having played football themselves. (…) Gaming can evoke the same fascination; however, you only experience eSports if you specifically look for it,” Sepso says.
One task of the department will consequently be to attract a broader audience to eSports. The potential for this exists.
