First Cloud 9 leaves after placing 2nd at the World Championship. Then eUnited left halo and ceased all operations. After that, Fnatic & G2 Esports left the HCS as well. Now Acend Club is the latest to leave, even after signing a Year 2 roster.
Acend is a European Esports team and the first to publicly explain their decision to leave the HCS. They began by stating they were declined an HCS partner position. Despite a heroic story-line for EU Halo and stellar content. They invested thousands in the extra expense of sending staff from EU to the USA for events to make content, only to be denied backstage & player access by HCS.
When Acend asked why they were denied partnership, they were ghosted by 343 Industries. Despite a repeated promise of an open dialogue and communication, There was zero communication. Not just during the HCS partner application. But throughout the entire season.
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Acend CEO in the part 2 of his statement blasts 343 Industries. Stating they have made repeated claims to support the scene. Yet 343's actions have proven that they don't know what they're doing. They've owned the Halo Franchise since 2011 and continue to make the same mistakes. Their CEO ended with this:
Reasons why Acend left HCS
- Incredibly poor communication from 343 Industries
- Denial of HCS partner application for year 2
- crowdfunding stripped away at a weeks notice. this took prize pool $$ from international regions
- bad official ruling at World championship ended their run
- outright ignored by 343 & HCS when attempting to appeal decisions or get feedback
With most of the top teams of Year 1 exiting the HCS, can it learn from its mistakes and redeem itself in year 2? What do you think?
