Call of Duty World League (CWL), Presented by PlayStation®4, Kicks-off New Season with Invitational Tournament at PlayStation Experience (PSX)

ANAHEIM, Calif.--()--Today, the Call of Duty® World League, Presented by PlayStation®4, revealed plans for the upcoming season.

The new season officially starts December 7th. Together with presenting partner, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the CWL shared the anticipated event schedule, information on the new Pro LAN league and confirmed the return of the Call of Duty World League Championship later in 2017 all in partnership with Major League Gaming.

“The 2016 inaugural season of the CWL was incredible. We saw more than 1,000 teams from around the world compete, and well over 1 billion minutes of broadcast content featuring some of the greatest Call of Duty competition ever,” said Executive Vice President and General Manager of Call of Duty, Rob Kostich. “So together with our presenting partner PlayStation®4, we’re excited to kick-off a new season of the Call of Duty World League, and what better way to get started than with a special invitational competition right here at PSX this weekend.”

The invitational tournament begins today and lasts through the weekend at PlayStation Experience (PSX) in Anaheim, Calif., December 3 - 4. This special invitational features eight teams representing North America and Europe, and is a precursor for the first CWL open competition, taking place December 16-18 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

“PlayStation®4 is proud to partner with the Call of Duty World League,” said Phil Rosenberg, SVP of Publisher and Developer Relations at Sony Interactive Entertainment America. “The spirit of competition and the excitement shared by fans throughout the season is nothing short of amazing. PlayStation continues to be the home of Call of Duty and the home of the Call of Duty World League. We can’t wait to get things started for our fans here at PSX.”

The new CWL season will feature a series of 4 LAN-based competitions as well as an all-new, worldwide LAN league for Pros. Players across the board will be able to earn CWL Pro Points through the season to lead to qualification for the CWL Championship in August. Further information is below:

  • 4 Massive Open LANs for CWL Pro Points
    • Las Vegas – December 16 – 18
    • Atlanta – February 10 -12
    • Anaheim – June 16 – 18
    • More details on the 4th event to come
  • New Pro LAN League
    • 16 Teams including 9 North American and 7 International
    • Begins in April
    • Columbus Arena, Columbus, Ohio
    • Teams will qualify based on CWL Pro Points earned at LANs as well as online via GameBattles
  • CWL Championship will return in 2017
    • 32 teams from around the globe
    • Teams will be able to earn CWL Pro Points at LANs and online via GameBattles beginning on Dec. 7.
    • Final Call of Duty Championship qualifiers will be played on LAN in the U.S., Europe and APAC
  • Online competitions in GameBattles for CWL Pro Points in all eligible regions beginning on Dec. 7.
  • The qualification process for the first regional competition in Las Vegas can be found here. The online qualification tournament for the CWL Las Vegas open will be held on December 10.

In addition to the global North American competitions, fans in Europe and APAC will have the chance to compete in regional LANs. More details around EU and APAC LANs will be coming soon.

Be sure to check out https://www.callofduty.com/esports and MajorLeagueGaming.com as well as follow @CODWorldLeague on Twitter , Instagram, and Twitch for the latest CWL updates. In 2016, the CWL set new franchise records with more than 1.2 Billion minutes watched of live competitive content and more than 120 million tune-ins.

Call of Duty World League, Presented by PlayStation®4 is proud to partner with Major League Gaming. Through MLG’s proven live streaming capabilities and technology, CWL fans can watch the Call of Duty esports action on MLG.TV. The invitational competition at PSX can be seen via MLG.TV and Twitch.

GameBattles is one of the largest cross platform online eSports tournament system with over 10 million registered players. Visit www.gamebattles.com for more information and to register. Teams can participate in competitions through the online competition portal GameBattles now.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. 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.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including those with respect to the expected features, events and dates of the Call of Duty World League, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’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.

ACTIVISION and CALL OF DUTY are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING is a registered trademark of Major League Gaming Corp.

Contacts

Activision Publishing, Inc.
Robert Taylor, 310.496.5206
PR Manager
Robert.Taylor@activision.com

Release Summary

Call of Duty and PlayStation team up for the 2nd season of Call of Duty World League competition with $4 million in prizing available.

Contacts

Activision Publishing, Inc.
Robert Taylor, 310.496.5206
PR Manager
Robert.Taylor@activision.com