Activision Blizzard in its annual report said it will “launch team sales” later this year in the not-yet-announced “Call of Duty” pro league. The video game publisher did not elaborate or return a message seeking comment, but the report also says, “Our expertise launching and growing the Overwatch League will allow us to launch additional professional esports initiatives.” “Call of Duty” would present a different value proposition for would-be team buyers than Overwatch, which was specifically designed to support a pro league but was largely untested in the market prior to the launch of the league and sales in late ‘16.
“Call of Duty” has been a consistently popular title since its original launch since ‘03, but has been far less successful as a spectator property. SportsBusiness Journal has reported the video game publisher’s interest in franchising team sales in “Call of Duty” for more than a year. The publisher in March created a new division, Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues, designed to handle multiple properties. Dot Esports first reported the annual report’s disclosure.
