As just confirmed on Activision Blizzard’s earnings call, following the blueprint established and validated with the Overwatch League, the company has started the team sales process for a professional, city-based Call of Duty esports league and has already sold 5 franchises for Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Paris and Toronto. In each case, they are partnering with existing Overwatch League team owners who have first-hand experience of the company’s esports vision and capabilities and recognize the scale of the opportunity for a global, city-based Call of Duty league.
Wanted to share additional details with you on this, which you can find below, including names of ownership groups, quotes, and select supporting images can be found here.
The first five teams are:
Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Esports Ventures, a joint venture owned by Cox Enterprises and Province, Inc. dedicated to bringing esports entertainment to the city of Atlanta
Dallas, TX – Envy Gaming Inc., a staple in esports since 2007 with teams competing this year in the Call of Duty World League (Envy) and Overwatch League (Dallas Fuel)
New York, NY – Sterling.VC, an early stage sports and media company backed by Sterling Equities – a family-run group of companies owned by the Wilpon and Katz families with several business operations including the New York Mets
Paris, France – c0ntact Gaming, LLC., is the parent company of both the Overwatch League team, Paris Eternal, and the Paris Call of Duty esports team
Toronto, Canada – OverActive Media, an integrated company delivering esports and video game entertainment to the Canadian market