In recent years, as esports have become more and more popular, video game companies are expanding and changing their approach to keep up with the growing market landscape. Activision-Blizzard is one of the largest video game companies, with over 4,500 employees working on video game titles,gaming leagues, and even movies and TV. Now, a former executive of one of the biggest sports in the world is joining Activision-Blizzard.
Former MLB Executive Tony Petitti will be joining Activision-Blizzard as a newly created position of President of Sports and Entertainment. Petitti has over 30 years of experience in the sports business, working most recently as the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer for the MLB. Although Petitti has not worked in esports, he is bringing knowledge of fan behavior, league operations and world-class sports business expertise that will benefit Activision-Blizzard greatly.
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Petitti will be head of the esports businesses and report directly to Activision-Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick. It seems both executives have a great deal of respect for the other and hope to make thecompany even more successful.Blizzard has recently expanded theirOverwatchLeague, so Petitti will have plenty of new challenges with his position.
Overwatchhas been a massively successful game and at the professional level, the esports league is highly competitive, butOverwatchhas been faced with some internal problems as well.Overwatchhas lost two of the top writers, leaving important positions to fill. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, these challenges may be more difficult, but Blizzard has been fully capable of adapting in the past.
Tony Petitti is one example of how esports is quickly becoming a top sport worldwide.The MLBhas been one of the most popular sports for decades, but with newer technology and many ways to watch, viewership for baseball has dropped and esports is rising. Esports still has a long way to go before being one of the most watched sports, but it has an advantage over traditional sports.
One advantage esports has is the variety of games and leagues. Each video game constitutes its own league, and games will continue to release and update so esports always has a fresh look. Tony Petitti has improved the MLB operations over the years and will look to do the same, taking on more responsibilities with the variety of games and leagues that Blizzard handles.
