Allegations of gender discrimination at Activision Blizzard continue to have profound consequences for the organization, extending even to the Call of Duty League. It's now being reported that two key sponsors for the Call of Duty League that have been a part of the esports organization since its start have now exited. Both ASTRO Gaming and the United States Army are no longer listed on the official Call of Duty League's list of sponsors.
Call of Duty fans started noticing a change regarding the two sponsors earlier this week. ASTRO Gaming sponsored the Call of Duty League's seasonal MVP award, and so had a large logo prominently displayed on the official esports' league's website. That logo has since been changed to remove ASTRO Gaming's logo from it, leaving the MVP award for the 2021 season unsponsored. The change was made quietly and it's not clear exactly when it went through, but it was undeniably done with intention.
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Following the change to the Call of Duty League's MVP logo, a larger and more meaningful alteration was made to the Call of Duty League website. On the official website, there's a page listing all of the esports league's official sponsors. ASTRO Gaming's logo was removed from this section earlier this week. The US Army logo was then also removed on Friday, August 13. The removals cut the CDL's listed sponsors from six brands to four.
If further evidence was necessary to prove the point, ASTRO Gaming has long sold a brand of Call of Duty League-branded headsets with team logos on them. The line of headsets was quite popular, given the success of recent Call of Duty games. That line of headsets appears to have been discontinued. The page for ASTRO Gaming's CDL headsets on the company's website now leads to a "404- Page Not Found" error with no redirect, perhaps showing it was taken down in a hurry.
ASTRO Gaming and the US Army are just the latest sponsors to seemingly end their sponsorship of the Call of Duty League. T-Mobile used to be the league's seventh sponsor, but became the first company to end that following the announcement of California's lawsuit against Activision Blizzard in July. T-Mobile also ended its sponsorship of Blizzard's Overwatch League, along with several other key sponsors.
Much remains unclear regarding the situation. None of the sponsors have issued statements regarding their sponsorship of the Call of Duty League, meaning no official reasons have been provided for their sponsorships ending. It's only implied that Activision Blizzard's ongoing controversies are the cause. The Call of Duty League will continue unabated.
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Source: Charlie Intel
