Several changes are coming ahead.
The general manager of Call of Duty esports wrote an announcement to the community about the future of the Call of Duty League (CDL). The announced changes greatly impact the future of not only the CDL but also Call of Duty esports in general, opening a new window of opportunities. These changes also address the concerns of a passionate community that asked for new features.
Daniel Tsay begins the letter by highlighting the evolution of the esports business model and the challenges that this has brought not only to the CDL but also to the teams that make it up. Challenges during the COVID-19 period led to temporary changes to relieve teams. This resulted in help for teams to finance salaries, interrupting the payment of franchise fees and other measures at the time.
CDL with changes for the future of Call of Duty esports
For the future of Call of Duty esports and the CDL, some points will be taken into account:
- "Outstanding entry fees will be eliminated, and any fees previously collected from teams will be returned in full. While we paused the collection of these years' payments ago, we are permanently removing this obligation while also injecting capital back into the League."
- "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. 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."
- "Recognizing that hosting large scale events are vital to teams and the CDL community, we will increase existing event subsidy amounts for Teams organizing live in-person events such as Majors, Opens and Champs."
- "Teams will receive a two-year minimum guarantee of revenue so they can continue investing into the Call of Duty League with more peace of mind."
New deal
In light of these changes, Adam Adamou, co-founder and CEO of OverActive Media and owner of Toronto Ultra, announced several new features. Adam announced a long-term agreement that he said "paves the way for our continued growth and success in Call of Duty and in esports."
The agreement eliminates the $35.1 million in entry fees that the OverActive group had to pay. Additionally, it injects $2.8 million into the company, offers new forms of revenue, and an incentive to host larger live events.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Call of Duty news and updates.