Activision Blizzard settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that the publisher imposed a limit on esports players’ salaries paid by the Overwatch and Call of Duty leagues.
The department filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on Monday, saying that Activision Blizzard, which owns the Overwatch League and the Call of Duty League, and the independently owned teams agreed to impose the Competitive Balance Tax. As its name suggests, the tax was designed to limit competition between the teams by suppressing the wages of esports players and fined teams for paying players above a certain threshold set by Activision Blizzard, which the department said violated the Sherman Act.
The DOJ added that Activision Blizzard dropped its salary limit rules in October 2021 following its investigation into the Competitive Balance Tax.
“The tax was never levied, and the leagues voluntarily dropped it from our rules in 2021,” Activision said in a statement (per Reuters). “We have always believed, and still believe, that the Competitive Balance Tax was lawful, and it did not have an adverse impact on players.”