Activision Blizzard of Santa Monica plans to open an e-sports arena in Burbank to play host to a variety of video game tournaments including the Overwatch Contenders Playoffs and Hearthstone Championship Tour in October, the company said Thursday.
Blizzard Arena Los Angeles will be able to broadcast and run multiple events at the same time, the company wrote on its website. The venue will have multiple sound stages, control rooms and player lounges throughout the facility. An on-site Blizzard store will open during events and feature a rotating selection of gear and goods based on the event taking place at the time.
When the Overwatch League launches later this year, Blizzard Arena will be the home for the inaugural season, the company said. “Overwatch” is a multiplayer online first-person shooter video game that is played on Windows computers, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. More than 30 million players are registered, according to Activision Blizzard. Formation of the “Overwatch” video gaming league was announced last year.
Across town, rival Riot Games, developer of video game “League of Legends,” also runs an e-sports league and arena. Riot’s North American League of Legends Championship Series Studio, across Olympic Boulevard from the video-game company’s West L.A. headquarters, is home to a 300-seat arena and an 80-seat theater.