Well this is certainly an interesting development for the world of eSports. Earlier this year, we got wind that IGN had cancelled its annual Vegas "Pro League" event, with the rumor being that the site's new owner was looking to sell off some of its subsidiary brands.
Turns out those rumors were true, and the buyer is none other than Blizzard Entertainment. The game studio has officially announced that it has purchased IGN Pro League's technology and assets, and has also hired a number of key members from the former team. Some of those former IPL staff members will be heading up a new team based in San Francisco, California, with the goal of "creating high-quality web and mobile content in support of Blizzard games."
"This new team will help us to further develop the rich media experiences that extend the fun and engagement of our games online," said Blizzard executive VP of publishing Itzik Ben-Bassat. "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."
Blizzard has folded the rest of the IPL staff into their current eSports team, many of whom will undoubtedly be working on the company's 2013 World Championship Series. Unfortunately, this does mean that the IPL brand is for all intents and purposes, dead. The recent $100,000 Shootmania launch event is officially the last IPL tournament to ever be held.
Blizzard of course is no stranger to professional eSports; they more or less enabled the entire community to exist with the original StarCraft. Still, in recent years MOBA styled games such as League of Legends and Valve's DotA 2 have planted their flag in the eSports landscape in a big way.
With Blizzard itself looking to launch its own MOBA game in the future, it seems like this recent IPL acquisition is just one of many steps it will be taking to push back.
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