Ben Pursell / Call of Duty League
- Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty League is an esports competition for one of the most popular video games in the world, with professional gamers representing 12 teams based in cities across North America and Europe.
- The "Call of Duty" franchise is an perennial best-seller, and the newest entry into the series recorded more than six million players in 24 hours.
- The 12 founding franchises in the Call of Duty League paid $25 million each to play in the inaugural season, according to ESPN. Ten of those team owners also invested $20 million or more in Activision's Overwatch League.
- Call of Duty League team owners range from professional sports teams and media conglomerates to real estate investment firms.
- Business Insider created a list of everyone who's invested millions to be part of the Call of Duty League's first season.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty League launched its inaugural season in January 2020, with 12 franchises paying $25 million each to compete in the wildly popular video game, according to ESPN.
"Call of Duty" is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time and has millions of active players on consoles, computers, and mobile devices. The Call of Duty League pays professional players a salary to compete in front of thousands of fans at live events in cities around the world.
Back in 2017, 12 teams paid $20 million to join Activision's first franchised esports competition, the Overwatch League, but the price to invest in Activision's newest esports initiative has gone up, according to Jacob Wolf of ESPN. The Overwatch League added eight new expansion teams ahead of its second season in 2019, with franchises paying between $30 and $60 million each for the rights to join, ESPN reported.
The Call of Duty League shares 10 of its 12 franchise owners with the Overwatch League, reflecting their confidence in Activision Blizzard's business model. Franchise investors range from endemic esports organizations with venture-capitalist backing to media conglomerates and sports franchises like the Los Angeles Rams.
Each Call of Duty League team has a home city, though not all of the team owners are from the same region. Activision wants live Call of Duty League events to turn local attendees into lifelong fans of esports. So far thousands of fans have filled arenas in the US and Europe for Call of Duty League matches, but the league's traveling schedule has been jeopardized by the spread of the coronavirus.
Even if the Call of Duty League can't continue to hold events for live audiences during the season, Activision plans to keep its esports leagues running by playing the matches online and broadcasting them for audiences as usual. The company recently reached a deal with Google to make YouTube the official streaming home of the Call of Duty League, Overwatch League, and other Activision esports games. Activision's broadcasting deal with YouTube was valued at $160 million, according to The Esports Observer.
Here's a breakdown of all 12 ownership groups in Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty League:
