Growth in Call of Duty eSports has been a hotly contested topic recently, debated on YouTube, Twitter, and the like. Today, Activision announced the next evolution in their efforts to grow Call of Duty eSports, and it’s going to the next level with the formation of the Call of Duty World League.
Activision noted in their announcement that Treyarch has “been a driving force” in eSports, citing their creation of features like League Play and CODcaster, and with the number of tournaments, players, and fans growing, it’s never been a better time to get involved in eSports.
Competitors will compete in one of two divisions during the year; the Pro or the Challenge Division, which can both garner an opportunity to take part in the Call of Duty Championship. Like the names imply, these divisions each serve their own specific purpose. In the Pro Division, we’ll see veteran Call of Duty players duke it out, while up-and-coming amateurs can make their names known in the Challenge Division.
The inaugural season of the Pro Division, taking place in North America, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand, will begin in December with qualification tournaments to select those moving onto seasonal play in January. Don’t live in these areas? You’ll still have the opportunity to compete in the Challenge Division, with details to come about those events. Each region will have its own structure of online and LAN tournaments for each division.
$3 million will be on the line throughout the first season of the World League, and the biggest event of the year will continue to be the Call of Duty Championship. As opposed to being set halfway through the year as in previous years, the event will be moving to the fall. Details haven’t been stated yet, but those in the Challenge Division will have opportunities to earn a spot at the Call of Duty Championship, through a series of World League sponsored and hosted events.
As for ongoing support for Call of Duty eSports, details were slim, but Activision and Call of Duty have stated they are looking forward to “working directly and more closely” with teams and organizations involved than they ever have before. Also, it looks like we’ll be seeing the World League past Call of Duty: Black Ops III, to future titles from Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games.
Are you looking forward to the new changes? Let us know, and make sure to follow OpTic Intel on Twitter for our continuing coverage of the MLG World Finals, the Call of Duty World League and more!