Ex-Call of Duty developer acquires Denial esports team

Every one wants to get in the esports game.

Robert Bowling, formerly a lead on the Call of Duty franchise at Infinity Ward, has backed the esports team Denial, which won $400,000 in first-place prize money at the 2015 Call of Duty World Champions.

Esports attracts an audience of over 15 million fans, according to video game industry research firm EEDAR. It’s becoming more mainstream as more companies get involved, including ESPN, which launched its own esports effort today. Last week, Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind Call of Duty, acquired the assets of Major League Gaming

“This is the largest year for esports since the inception of the industry,” Bowling noted in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “As co-owner of the fastest growing and strongest esports organization competing in the sport today, I’m excited to support our players, sponsors, and partners in making Denial a household name in mainstream esports.”

Denial also plans to have teams compete in Gears of War, League of Legends, Smite, Halo, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive this year.

Bowling is also the vice president of Humble Bundle, which sells packages of digital games with some of the proceeds going to charity. It has raised $69 million for charity so far.