The Dallas Call of Duty franchise have officially confirmed their name as the ‘Dallas Empire’ and revealed a first look at their logo and branding for the inaugural season of the CoD League in 2020.
In the buildup to their brand reveal, Dallas revealed a new member of their five-man roster each day, which includes two 2x World Champions in James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks and Ian ‘Crimsix’ Porter.
The two veterans are teaming up again for the first time since the legendary Complexity roster, and are joined by three young stars in Cuyler ‘Huke’ Garland, Indervir ‘iLLeY’ Dhaliwal and Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro.
Crimsix was the last roster announcement for Dallas, who are yet to announce their substitute players.
Crimsix himself teased the team name in his reveal video, closing it by saying “it’s time to build an Empire.” As leaks suggested, Dallas Empire is the official name for the Envy-owned franchise.
Team Envy boast the longest history in Call of Duty esports, and where one of the first teams to confirm they would be joining the franchised league, as the CWL concluded in August.
CEO Mike ‘Hastr0’ Rufial had built up the reveal for weeks, and even tried to throw fans off the trail from leaks, saying “You guys can keep speculating. Just know that our launch will be pretty epic.”
However, the names of all twelve franchises were leaked from the code on the Call of Duty League website, and so far each of these leaked names has proven accurate.
Hastr0 dropped some not-so-subtle hints about the name Dallas Empire.
Fans have had mixed responses to many of the names, but Dallas Empire has been well received generally – although some argue it perhaps would have been more suited to the New York City franchise instead.
Envy also owns the Dallas Fuel in the Overwatch League, but it doesn’t appear that there is too much of a crossover in the branding here, even dropping Envy’s iconic blue color.
The ever-popular Call of Dutyseries has remained a staple pick for those looking to show off their quick reflexes and eagle-eyed aim. Whether you enjoy futuristic firefights or prefer the boots on the ground approach, Call of Duty has delivered numerous experiences over the years.
From the brutal battlefields of WWII to present-day conflicts, the series has continually visited and revisited numerous theatres of war with each new entry.
With the next title on the horizon, let’s run through everything we know about CoD 2021.
CoD 2021 release date
Activision / TreyarchBlack Ops Cold War is the latest title to be released.
As of writing, we don’t have an official release date set for Call of Duty 2021. However, that hasn’t stopped us from making an educated guess. By following similar CoD release title trends, it’s fair to speculate that the game will release in early to mid-November.
After all, the previous Call of Duty games all had November releases. Here’s a brief timeline of previous CoD release dates:
Call of Duty 3: November 7, 2006
Modern Warfare: November 7, 2007
World at War: November 11, 2008
Modern Warfare 2: November 10, 2009
Black Ops: November 9, 2010
Modern Warfare 3: November 8, 2011
Black Ops II: November 13, 2012
Ghosts: November 5, 2013
Advanced Warfare: November 4, 2014
Black Ops III: November 6, 2015
Infinite Warfare: November 4, 2016
WWII: November 3, 2017
Black Ops 4: October 12, 2018
Black Ops Cold War: November 13, 2020
While Infinity Ward changed things up with the release of Modern Warfare on October 25, 2019, it is more than likely that CoD 2021 will keep to the usual November schedule.
Call of Duty 2021 developer
Activision / Sledgehammer GamesSledgehammer’s last release was Call of Duty WWII.
So, now that we have an idea of when Call of Duty 2021 could release, who exactly is in charge of developing it? Well, if we take a look at the development cycle of the franchise, we might just get a few clues.
Firstly, the three main studios developing the core Call of Duty games are Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games. Raven Software could be given the reigns, but this is unlikely, especially given they mainly focus on assisting each studio.
Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software were tasked with releasing the next CoD game in 2020, but disagreements between the two arose, leading Treyarch to take the lead role. Sledgehammer’s title was then developed into Black Ops Cold War.
Quite how much of the project was reworked into Cold War remains to be seen, but it does seem likely that Sledgehammer Games would use this time to begin working on another title. If this wasn’t evident enough, last year, Sledgehammer reportedly hired 150 new staff and stated that they were actively working on multiple projects.
Combine this with the fact that Infinity Ward has only just wrapped up development on Modern Warfare and Treyarch is still busy working on content for Black Ops Cold War – and you have a pretty strong case.
Call of Duty 2021 rumors
Activision / Sledgehammer Games Could a prequel to Advanced Warfare be in the works?
There have been a lot of rumors surrounding Call of Duty 2021, with many fans speculating that the Sledgehammer could be making another entry in the Advanced Warfare series. However, renowned Call of Duty leaker, Tom Henderson believes that if that is the case, the game will be a prequel.
“Warzone is going to have a Sledgehammer Games integration,” says Henderson. The whole purpose of Warzone is to convert free-to-play players into paid players by purchasing whichever title is integrated at the time. I just can’t see an EM1 laser rifle being in Warzone, it just doesn’t make sense to me.”
This would be a jarring experience, particularly given Warzone’s arsenal currently utilizes real-world weaponry. Having highly futuristic guns could also upset the current balance of the game as well, an area Activision is constantly aiming to control.
“Maybe we could see a Call of Duty WWII title, possibly like WWII but maybe a prequel or sequel. It would make a lot more sense for the weapons to be integrated into Warzone. It could be a modern or even a future title, but not set too far into the future where it wouldn’t make sense for the Warzone integration.”
As for Call of Duty 2021 leaks, there has been no footage, screenshots, or box art showcasing the new title. Of course, you can expect to see the usual photoshopped images, blurry box art, fake emails, and rickrolls that come with every new Call of Duty release.
Crimsix was the last roster announcement for Dallas, who are yet to announce their substitute players.
Hastr0 dropped some not-so-subtle hints about the name Dallas Empire.
