The Call of Duty League has announced some significant changes to the format of the remaining events in the 2020 season, as well as a new Warzone tournament, and in-game rewards for watching matches.
Like almost all esports events, the inaugural season of the CDL has suffered some setbacks due to the ongoing global crisis. Home Series events have been forced to move online, which throws up its own problems for server connections and broadcasting the matches.
After three online tournaments, the CDL has announced some big changes for future events. Perhaps most importantly is the fact that all twelve league teams will now compete at the Call of Duty League Championship.
ActivisionThe curtain closer of the season will now welcome all 12 teams, for a jam-packed weekend of Call of Duty action.
CDL Championship changes
The Call of Duty League Championship, the final event of the season, will now feature all 12 teams, rather than only the top eight. League standings will determine each team’s starting position at this final event in August.
1st and 2nd placed teams in the CDL Standings will automatically skip the first two rounds of the event’s Winner’s Bracket, and the event will be played in a double-elimination format.
CDL Warzone Weekends
Warzone, the battle royale mode in Modern Warfare, is one of the most popular games in the world currently, and the CDL will now be incorporating it into their competitive tournaments.
Starting with CDL Seattle (May 22-24), all twelve teams will be dropping into a 48-player Quads match of Warzone. The winning team will even net themselves a cool $10,000.
The tournament will be live-to-tape and shown before the final matches start at CDL Seattle on Sunday, May 24.
ActivisionWho will win the CDL’s first match-up in Verdansk?
In-game rewards for watching CDL
Activision are finally giving viewers what they’ve been longing for on the YouTube-exclusive broadcasts: in-game rewards. For watching CDL action, Modern Warfare players will be able to earn exclusive CDL team-themed Emblems, Sprays, Animated Calling Cards and more.
This has been a highly requested feature from the community for a long time, and will hopefully encourage more casual fans to check out the streams, too.
But, it’s not been announced when exactly this will be starting, or how exactly players will earn the rewards. More details should be coming soon.
ActivisionEven more in-game items are set to join the plethora of CDL cosmetics already available in Modern Warfare.
CDL Bracket Challenge
For an added bit of fun while watching the tournament, the new bracket challenge will allow you to predict the winners of each match-up over the weekend. Keep an eye on the official Call of Duty League website for when the draft goes live!
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.
