OverActive Media – the parent company of Splyce, Toronto Defiant, an unnamed Call of Duty franchise, and MAD Lions E.C. – is set to cease operations at its office in Rochester, New York.
A report by Dexerto states that the Splyce brand will be shut down as part of a restructuring within the company, which includes the loss of jobs for a number of employees.
A follow-up report from ESPN explains that Splyce is “expected to remain active as a brand” so it’s currently unclear as to the status of the organisation considering the conflicting information. What both reports agree on, however, is that OverActive Media is contemplating rebranding its LEC team to MAD Lions E.C. – the Spanish brand it acquired in May.
Paulo Senra, Vice President of Global Content and Communications at OverActive Media told Esports Insider: “We appreciate and respect the contribution of our colleagues in Rochester and we thank each of them for their commitment and passion over the years.
“With our Overwatch and Call of Duty teams moving to Toronto for their respective 2020 seasons, it is time now to establish our operations in Canada. We will be headquartered in Toronto to appropriately support our players, coaches and all of our key business functions as our business continues to grow and mature. We are building a leading global esports organization — and we will be adding some additional key hires in the weeks ahead as we continue to expand our operations in both Europe and North America.”
After acquiring a majority share in Splyce in November last year, OverActive Media laid off six employees in February. The decision was described as the business taking a new direction.
Esports Insider says: It’s always a shame to see people lose their jobs, that goes without saying. What does make sense, though, is consolidating operations in a central place and there’s no better location for OverActive Media than Toronto. We sincerely hope everybody lands on their feet in no time.