SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Call of Duty League™ today announced agreements with Twitter and the U.S. Army for its inaugural season.
“We have seen excitement for the new Call of Duty League grow since the season kicked off in January 2020, and we couldn’t be prouder to announce additional partners for the future vision of Call of Duty esports,” said Josh Cella, Head of Global Partnerships, Activision Blizzard Esports. “Each of these brands will help deliver fresh content and experiences to our global audience as the best players in the world compete to win the first Call of Duty League Championship.”
Call of Duty League and Twitter have entered into a global, multi-year agreement. Twitter will be the source for Call of Duty League highlights and community engagement throughout the next three seasons.
In addition to real-time highlights, Call of Duty League will utilize Twitter’s conversational products for fan predictions & cheering, along with their recently launched Topics and Lists functionality. Twitter and Call of Duty League have also launched team hashtag emojis for the entire League, allowing fans to share their fandom across the platform.
“The Call of Duty community has been one of the largest gaming communities on Twitter, and we are thrilled to be partnering with Activision Blizzard to continue to support this vibrant community,” says Rishi Chadha, Global Head of Gaming Content Partnerships. “In 2019 alone, Call of Duty Esports had 3 of the Top 10 most talked about esports events in the world, and this long-term partnership shows our commitment to the continued success of Call of Duty Esports.”
Also new to Call of Duty Esports is a sponsorship with U.S. Army. As part of the one-year agreement, U.S. Army will activate at multiple levels of Call of Duty Esports, including Call of Duty League and Call of Duty Challengers™. In the Call of Duty League, U.S. Army will be featured in League broadcasts throughout the season as the sponsor of a special segment dubbed “Tactical Play,” in which on-air analysts review key highlights from League matches. At select League events, U.S. Army will offer fans walk-up and play opportunities, adding to the multitude of ways fans in attendance can experience Call of Duty.
Additionally, the U.S. Army Esports Team will participate in Call of Duty Challengers LAN competition. The team is composed of active duty soldiers who represent the U.S. Army in competitive and amateur esports competition throughout the United States. Members of the U.S. Army Esports team participate in multiple streamed events with some of the industry’s more popular streamers.
U.S. Army will also be the presenting sponsor of a forthcoming collegiate duos competition tournament series. Call of Duty® Collegiate will be open to eligible college students in the United States and Canada. More information on the collegiate series is coming soon, including eligibility information for registration. The tournament will be offered on the GameBattles platform and operated by Tespa, the leader in collegiate gaming.
The Call of Duty League season is broadcast online exclusively on YouTube.com/CODLeague. Visit CallofDutyLeague.com to learn more about the season, including the season schedule and standings.
About Call of Duty League
Call of Duty League™ is the official esports league of the Call of Duty franchise, from publisher Activision. The inaugural season of Call of Duty League includes 12 teams from four countries and spotlights the best Call of Duty esports players from around the world. Call of Duty League launched in January 2020, and features fresh ways for pro players, amateurs, and fans to come together around one of the world’s most beloved games. To learn more about the Call of Duty League, visit callofdutyleague.com.
About Activision Blizzard Esports
Activision Blizzard Esports (ABE) is responsible for the development, operation, and commercialization of Activision Blizzard’s professional gaming properties including the Overwatch League™, the Call of Duty® League™, Call of Duty® Challengers™, Hearthstone® Masters, StarCraft® II esports, Warcraft® III: Reforged™, and the World of Warcraft® Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International, among others. ABE also operates Tespa, the leader in collegiate esports. It is ABE’s vision to be the most innovative, scalable, and valuable developer of global competitive entertainment.
About Activision
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com or by following @Activision.
©2020 Activision Publishing, Inc. CALL OF DUTY, MODERN WARFARE and CALL OF DUTY LEAGUE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Blizzard’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the availability and features of the Call of Duty League, Call of Duty Challengers and Call of Duty Collegiate, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Blizzard’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.