The first five teams for Activision’s upcoming “Call of Duty” Esports League was revealed Thursday.
Leading into Activision Blizzard’s first quarter earnings call, the initial round of teams was announced, with teams based in Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, New York, NY, Paris, France, and Toronto, Canada. Atlanta Esports Ventures, Envy Gaming, Inc., Sterling.VC, c0ntact Gaming, LLC., and OverActive Media will be responsible for said teams, respectively.
Atlanta Esports Ventures is a joint venture between Cox Enterprises and Province, Inc. with a mission to bring “the best of esports to the city of Atlanta.” AEV currently houses “Overwatch” League team Atlanta Reign. Envy Gaming is the owner and operator of esports franchise Team Envy and “Overwatch” League team Dallas Fuel. Sterling.VC is an early stage technology, media, and sports fund backed by Sterling Equities, and leads ownership for the New York Excelsior, part of the “Overwatch” League and first professional esports team to represent New York.
OverActive Media is a global esports company that owns the “Overwatch” League’s Toronto Defiant, while c0ntact Gaming is the parent company of the “Overwatch” League’s Paris Eternal team.
“The upcoming launch of our new ‘Call of Duty’ esports league reaffirms our leadership role in the development of professional esports,” said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. We have already sold Call of Duty teams in Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Paris and Toronto to existing Overwatch League team owners, and we will announce additional owners and markets later this year. Our owners value our professional, global city-based model, the success we have had with broadcast partners, sponsors and licensees, and the passion with which our players have responded to our events.”
There currently isn’t a timeline for when additional teams will be announced just yet.
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