In case you were wondering, the ‘World Series of Warzone’ moniker will never be seen again in an official setting. This is because, earlier this week, Activision suddenly dropped the name and trademark after a brief legal clash against Major League Baseball.
The spat came around the naming convention ‘World Series’, which the baseball folks determined was theirs and theirs alone, as a result of their lengthy history with competitions like the World Series, College World Series, and World Series 200. Activision relented and dropped the World Series of Warzone in the blink of an eye.
World Series of Warzone is No More
The World Series of Warzone was running for several years before being dropped by Activision. It was the biggest and most valuable tournament ecosystem in the Warzone space, accommodating thousands of battle royale fans every year. It was already confirmed that it wouldn’t be a thing this year, with Activision introducing things like the Warzone Resurgence Series instead.
Thanks to a scoop from Stephen Totilo at Game File, we now know why.
On Monday, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball (aka the leadership team that runs MLB) officially filed a notice with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to oppose Activision’s long-running attempt to trademark the term “World Series of Warzone.”
That same day, Activision gave up, filing an express notice to the USPTO that it would abandon the trademark.
To avoid any confusion, the folks at Major League Baseball opposed the legitimization of the World Series of Warzone via the trademark office. But it didn’t end there.
The commissioner of the MLB also has an issue with the use of the term ‘zone’ in ‘Warzone‘, given the connotations it has with baseball and how the term surfaces in many ways in the sport.
It’s extremely unlikely they’ll get anyone to budge on that front. It’s like the Fine Brothers trying to trademark ‘React’ to stop YouTube creators aping their grind.
Are you sad to see the back of the World Series of Warzone? Let us know what you’re thinking on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that BLAST has revamped next year’s Counter-Strike calendar
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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