Activision Blizzard said today the Call of Duty League will offer better financial terms for esports teams to create more sustainable league.
Daniel Tsay, general manager of the Call of Duty League, said in a post that the moves will make for a “stronger, more sustainable league.
“Over the past five seasons, the Call of Duty League and its Teams have learned a great deal about the evolving business model of esports and its challenges,” Tsay said. “We have taken these learnings and together with our CDL teams, made changes to create a stronger, more sustainable league. In the past, the League implemented various solutions to alleviate some of the challenges for Teams.”
These measures included providing financial relief during COVID-19 to fund player salaries and benefits, pausing franchise fee payments, providing funding for team-hosted events, guaranteeing revenue to teams and creating in-game team bundles.
The Call of Duty League’s popularity continues to grow, andTsay said that was evident by this past season, which saw the highest viewership in history and record-breaking attendance at in-person events. But he said Activision Blizzard is “redoubling efforts on the business side to ensure the success and longevity of competitive Call of Duty.”
The company has worked on this new approach with team owners for about a year to set the league up for mutual success.
Tsay announced that outstanding entry fees will be eliminated, and any fees previously collected from teams will be returned in full. While the league paused collection of these payments years ago, it will now permanently remove this obligation while also injecting capital back into the league.
Teams will earn increased revenue tied to the sale of their in-game merchandise (for instance, team bundles) and now the Champs bundle as well.
“We know how meaningful in-game bundles can be for teams and we want to make sure they have increased ability to drive their own financial success,” Tsay said.
Recognizing that hosting large scale events are vital to teams and the CDL community, the league will increase existing event subsidies that it gives teams for organizing live in-person events such as Majors, Opens and Champs.
And teams will receive a two-year minimum guarantee of revenue so so they can continue investing into the Call of Duty League with more peace of mind.
“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,” Tsay said. “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.”
He added, “I want to thank our teams for the discussions we had to make these changes a reality and look forward to continuing that tight partnership. We know this is an ever-changing esports environment, but together with our teams, we remain committed to delivering the ultimate fan experience to the CDL community.”
Asked what the long-term plan is for assisting teams, Tsay told GamesBeat, “We’ve agreed with teams to a new structure that aligns league and team incentives, creates a more stable economic structure, and hopefully leads to a more successful league over the long term for the benefit of team owners, players and our fans.”
There are currently 12 teams in the Call of Duty League. Two teams offered comments on the news.
“This is a landmark agreement for OverActive Media around a long-term commitment to the Call of Duty League that benefits all major stakeholders,” said Adam Adamou, CEO, OverActive Media, in a staetment. “This model recognizes the key role that organizations like Toronto Ultra and our partners have played in the expansion and growth of Call of Duty esports and maximizes the opportunities for us, our partners and our fans while retaining the critical elements that have made the Call of Duty League such an incredible product.”
And Ben Spoont, founder of the Miami Heretics, said in a statement, “Following months of collaboration with the Call of Duty League, we are excited to enter a new phase of the CDL with our team interests closely aligned with those of the League. The newly restructured League puts our team on solid financial footing and positions us to succeed as a key member of North America’s premier esport. We are thrilled to continue competing against the best COD players in the world and we plan to bring home wins and trophies for years to come.”