Activision hinted at possible future changes in the annual Call of Duty League cycle.
As with the regular Call of Duty cycle, the CoD scene switches to the latest CoD game every year. So while the 2020 season was pro players on Modern Warfare, they are now in Black Ops Cold War.
Some rival fans have long called for a long lifespan in the games played, similar to more popular sports titles like League of Legends or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
A long life cycle allows games to develop and players can really master what they are playing. Even now in the above games we see how new strategies play out and the game develops to a next level.
Call of Duty esports has switched from game to game every year to follow the CoD cycle, but that may soon change.
Clearly, for esport purists, an annual life cycle is detrimental to the competitive scene of a title – and it seems that these conversations could also take place at Activision regarding the CDL.
In an interview with Inverse, Activision Blizzard CRO asked Brandon Snow about the annual cycle and gave an answer that will definitely raise eyebrows.
‘If you ask if we might play Cold War for four years; “If it made sense to us, the player base supported it, and viewers supported it,” he said. ‘We’ve moved our esports based on the latest title to keep it as relevant as possible. But can there be a world where we hold on to a title for years? It is not sold according to any specific strategy there. ”
The Call of Duty League can change its format significantly if these tips amount to a lot.
Although this does not confirm anything, it certainly suggests that there is a possibility that the annual cycle will be dropped completely for the CDL.
Whether this happens this year or in the future is impossible to determine; as Snow himself says, they are not yet sold to a specific strategy. But it is very telling that the idea is not completely closed.
Elsewhere in the interview, Snow discussed the possibility that Fortnite-like live events would come to Warzone, and how the battle for royal title could be integrated into the esports scene.
Needless to say, there may be some major changes in the future of Call of Duty, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.