As the inaugural season of the Call of Duty League comes to a close, reports are surfacing with details of what the 2021 season will look like. In some ways, it will be quite different, but in one very huge way, it will be exactly the same.
Call of Duty was bound to eventually have an official esports league beyond the occasional fun tournaments and competitions. The CDL (Call of Duty League) is just that. The first season should be seen as a success, especially given the struggles presented by COVID-19. But some may wonder where the league is going next. One big decision has apparently already been made, there will be no expansion teams in 2021.
Currently, there are 12 franchised teams in the CDL. To enter the league, each team had to pay a $25 million buy-in. That’s a huge investment, especially considered this year’s champions walked away with much less than that, but the CDL winners did receive their very own royalty-esque thrones to sit on.
After a fun first season, it may seem like a good idea to add a few teams. However, that isn’t going to be the case. In fact, the 2021 season is going to be changing in a rather drastic way that feels like the opposite of adding new teams. The next season of the CDL will be played in a 4v4 setting, instead of 5v5. So players who were once starters in the league will have to sit on the bench, or maybe be kicked out of the league all-together for a time.
The news about the lack of expansion teams is coming from reputable sources, including ESPN. The decision was apparently a unified one from the team owners who want to “showcase [its] original business plan.” Perhaps COVID-19, which has affected gaming so much, put a halt to what the league really wanted to accomplish in year one. Or maybe the plan all along was to let the league naturally grow for a few years before piling on more.
The 2021 season will also be played in the multiplayer of Black Ops Cold War, which of course makes sense. Each season will be played on whatever COD game is the newest. The 4v4 setting could even be a part of Cold War‘s overall design, with smaller and more intimate multiplayer levels and battles. More information on that should be revealed shortly, however.
The CDL no doubt wants to continue to grow. There are even CDL cosmetic items within Modern Warfare. But taking time to allow the program to grow naturally is probably wise. More teams could certainly be a part of the league in the future.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launches November 13 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.
Source: Dextero
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