The History of Call of Duty

The first Call of Duty was launched in 2003 and its PC version was well-received by everyone. Thanks to its success, it then went on to grow larger and larger. Call of Duty titles are now released on an annual basis, with three different development teams releasing the titles in a fair rotation; Treyarch, Infinity Ward and SledgeHammer Games. The most recent game is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, developed by Infinity Ward, and is the forefront of the Franchised Professional League and Amateur Challengers System.

Call of Duty took quite some time to develop into the esports we know it as today, however, since the dawn of esports the Call of Duty scene has been filled with passion and continually strived for better. Due to majority of the player base being casual, the esports aspect of the game has also been second in regard to priority and has had to make competitive compromises due to this.

Over the past few years there has certainly been a boom in the Call of Duty esports environment. The Call of Duty Pro League first appeared in 2014 during the Call of Duty: Ghosts season. Since then, the format and production continued to evolve, and it has since become a fully professional, franchised league featuring 12 teams.

The Franchised Call of Duty League

In 2019 it was confirmed that Call of Duty would be transitioning to a Franchised system, with each league spot holding an initial value of $25 million USD. Twelve organisations in total jumped on this opportunity which formed the inaugural Call of Duty League:

Atlanta FaZe

Chicago Huntsmen

Dallas Empire

Florida Mutineers

London Royal Ravens

Los Angeles Guerrillas

Minnesota ROKKR

New York Subliners

OpTic Gaming Los Angeles

Paris Legion

Seattle Surge

Toronto Ultra

With the move to franchising enforcing each team to be locked to a selected city, it opened up a unique experience for players and fans. All league matches are played out at "Home Series" events hosted by each respective franchise team. This means the competitive season will be played out in several cities, allowing a new abundance of fans to get involved.

The amateur scene and community have always played a vital part in the success of Call of Duty as an esport. Alongside this franchised system, Activision have also created a Challengers system for semi-professional and amateur teams to compete in throughout the year.

How Call of Duty is Played

Competitive Call of Duty is played in a 5-vs-5 format, similar to CS:GO. The two teams compete on various maps and modes, with each game mode offering unique objectives and focal points for action. For those that have played other FPS (First-person-shooter) titles, the rest of the game play with be similar. The three game modes featured in the competitive rotation this season are:

Hardpoint

Search and Destroy

Domination

In the Call of Duty League, matches are played out in a Best of 5 format. The first team to win three maps, wins the series.