Blizzard today announced their purchase of IPL, IGN's pro league. Along with that they mentioned that they will not be continuing the league, rather they will have the IPL staff join their existing eSports team. Am I the only one that is very disappointed in this? I don't follow pro gaming all of the time but having such a big league basically vanish is disappointing. I doubt anything that Blizzard does with it in the future will involve a variety of games as well.
As an important next step in its ongoing efforts to provide world-class entertainment, Blizzard has purchased IGN Pro League technology and assets from IGN. Along with this purchase, Blizzard is bringing onboard members of the IPL staff as the foundation for a new team based in San Francisco whose primary focus will be on creating high-quality web and mobile content in support of Blizzard games, while some IPL staff have joined Blizzard's existing eSports team.
"This new team will help us to further develop the rich media experiences that extend the fun and engagement of our games online," said Itzik Ben-Bassat, Blizzard's executive vice president of publishing. "This is a team of passionate gamers with a proven track record, and we're looking forward to now leveraging their expertise and technology to support a variety of online efforts."
Regarding the transaction, Peer Schneider, executive vice president of IGN, stated, "With the continuing evolution of the eSports space and the renewed focus on our core media brand, we made the decision to sell the IGN Pro League technology and assets and become agnostic in our competitive gaming coverage. Following Blizzard's acquisition of IPL assets, IGN will partner with multiple organizations and cover their events."
http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/news/?d=2013-4#81200
