It has been a rocky few years for the Call of Duty League. The top-most tournament in the Call of Duty space has bounced from pillar to post, suffering from financial woes, drops in viewership, and some controversies surrounding the very games that the League unravels on every season. Today, the Call of Duty League leadership team published an update that’s set to bolster the future of the CDL, which many thought wouldn’t see the end of 2024.
In an all-new ‘team agreement update’, Daniel Tsay, the general manager of Call of Duty Esports, spoke directly to the community about a series of changes. These changes are designed to increase team revenue and to recognise the requirements of the community backing the Call of Duty League. It’s a firm step in the right direction for Activision and any associated studios and organisers, especially given recent events. This news comes mere weeks after layoffs impacted the esports teams at Activision Blizzard – including CDL personnel.
The Future is Bright(?)
The Call of Duty League has long struggled to maintain a positive sentiment among the global COD community. For the most part, fans would rather have the COD World League back, which came before the franchising structure that now exists and saw a much more diverse and international list of organisations make their way into the COD esports scene. That’s a long time gone, and given the recent update, it seems as though Activision is preparing to settle in with the CDL for the long run.
Or at least, the longish run.
In the update published on the Call of Duty League website, GM Daniel Tsay outlined four key changes that will alter the face of the Call of Duty League for the organisations taking part in it.
- Outstanding entry fees will be eliminated, and any fees previously collected from teams will be returned in full.
- Teams will earn increased revenue tied to the sale of their in-game merchandise (e.g., Team bundles) and now, the Champs bundle as well.
- Recognising that hosting large-scale events is vital to teams and the CDL community, we will increase existing event subsidy amounts for Teams organising live in-person events
- Teams will receive a two-year minimum guarantee of revenue so they can continue investing in the Call of Duty League with more peace of mind.
This means that organisations that bought into the CDL and ‘purchased’ their franchise slot for more than $20 million will get their money back. Those who still owe their entry fee will have their debt scrubbed. There will be more revenue paid to the organisations for selling digital merchandise (such as skin packs), and LAN events will have more money put into them so that the teams hosting them can do so in a reliable fashion.
Recently, the Carolina Royal Ravens had to ditch hosting Major IV, with the tournament now being scheduled to take place behind closed doors without a live audience.
There’s also a plan to guarantee revenue to organisations for at least the next two years, which keeps the Call of Duty League alive assumedly through 2025 (and perhaps beyond).
Propelling The League
In a personal statement, Daniel Tsay stressed his confidence in the future of the CDL:
‘Esports is where many of Call of Duty’s community engage with the franchise and where players have the opportunity to turn their Call of Duty passion into professional careers, and we want to ensure we continue to build a thriving future for this audience. Our teams have a huge role in shaping that future and by investing more into them with these changes, we hope to continue propelling the CDL forward.’
Many believe that these changes have risen off the back of the recent lawsuit filed by OpTic Gaming against Activision. It was effectively quashed, but it may have pushed Activision to take a stand and do something about COD’s premier esports league.
For more Call of Duty news, Esports.net
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