Activision Blizzard Might be Franchising Call of Duty World League Like the Overwatch League

Activision Blizzard Might be Franchising Call of Duty World League Like the Overwatch League

Current Overwatch League owners have first pick.

News by Matt Kim, News Editor

Updated on 22 June 2018

Activision Blizzard is apparently exploring a possible franchise model for the Call of Duty World League that will be like the franchise model of the Overwatch League. What's more, existing Overwatch League team owners have first right of negotiation for slots in the Call of Duty World League.

The news comes from ESPN based on financial reports covered by Dot Esports. Apparently in franchise contracts with Overwatch League owners, the right to first negotiation is included says sources. Activision Blizzard is contractually obligated to reach out to Overwatch League owners

Overwatch League

It's unclear if Activision Blizzard has plans to set up local franchises for Call of Duty teams like they do for Overwatch League, but considering how successful the Overwatch League is for Activision Blizzard, it's not a stretch to imagine cousin franchises for different esport games.

Overwatch League slots started at $20 million for team owners, and the next expansion of team slots supposedly will cost even more than that.

According to ESPN the buy-in also included future relationships with Activision Blizzard, including future games and esports. As it stands, only Dallas Fuel owner Team Envy and Houston Outlaws' OpTic Gaming have Call of Duty teams in their organizations.

No word yet on when a Call of Duty World League franchise will begin, or how much buy-ins will cost. Still, franchising has been a hot topic in the video game esports and with more organizations looking into the model, it only makes sense that more games are looking into it as well.

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Matt Kim

News Editor

Matt Kim is a former freelance writer who's covered video games and digital media. He likes video games as spectacle and is easily distracted by bright lights or clever bits of dialogue. He also once wrote about personal finance, but that's neither here nor there.

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