Malta Cyber Games

Held at the currently ongoing i38, the largest and most popular LAN events in the United Kingdom, many British, as well as attending European players were expecting a huge tournament, with considerable prize money as well as a competitively viable game, but even early into i38, the hopes of the attendees had quickly eroded, replaced by quasi-hostility against organisers Multiplay, developers Infinity Ward and publishers Activision.

 

The MW2 tournament at i38 had long been publicised as being the world's first, and the deal Multiplay had struck with Activision seemed very prospectful, with Activision and Multiplay promising a sizeable cash prize to the winners. Thoughts and opinions ran wild regarding said prize, yet only half-way through the tournament did Multiplay announce a measley £1000 (€1123.35) - a joke, considering the hype and the ticket price of the event (£90 to bring your own PC, £140 to just turn up and play, as well as £10 per day (or £25 for three days) spectator tickets.

 

Multiplay also only announced an age restriction of 18 years for the MW2 tournament just a week before the event started. Teams turned up and were refused entry to the tournament. Others were simply removed from the competition midway, with teams, such as EMPATHY being kicked out in the semi-finals of the tournament. The Finnish team Epsilon, which travelled all the way to the UK from Finland, having paid hundreds to travel, were also not allowed to play due to having one player who did not meet the age requirements.

 

The format played at i38 was not even the traditional gametype of Search & Destroy, but Capture the Flag, and several high profile players at the event have been voicing their discontent and the lack of competivity of the game, blaming it to be too console oriented.

 

Part of the agreement that Multiplay and Activision came to disallowed Multiplay even from holding a CoD4 tournament with a prize, which prompted the attendees to sort out a CoD4 tournament for themselves, collecting £25 per team for a prize pot, whilst ZOWIE GEAR kindly sponsored the second place prizes.

 

These facts continue to more strongly define the European settlement regarding the competivity of the CoD series, with many opting to continue playing CoD4.