It looks like H1Z1 is having some problems with its professional e-sports league. This isn’t entirely news, as the league faced controversy right from the start, but a piece on VPEsports highlights ongoing issues including an alleged failure to pay organizations involved with the professional league. The claim is that there was a force majeure event (an unexpected event preventing properly fulfilling the contract), but the causes and reasons for this remain undisclosed, which itself amounts to a default on contractual obligations.
Reports also indicate that H1Z1 events have been underattended, with many attendees being bribed into attending, and viewership has hovered between 2,000 and 12,000 contrary to claims based on Facebook metrics. The full piece details everything elaborately and points out all of the issues with the game’s e-sports angle, including Daybreak’s Columbus Nova ownership denial earlier this year (yes, this could still turn out to be a problem). It remains to be seen whether this is a hiccup or the signs of something worse on the horizon for the game’s professional competitive scene, particularly as Daybreak just brought on Jace Hall to renovate the game on PC.
