Call of Duty actually being played at a serious, competitive level may seem to be a somewhat absurd idea to those used to the shenanigans of some of the games and the various perks in them, but it’s not unheard of- 2012’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II, in particular, tailored itself entirely towards eSports play, for instance, and the newest release, Advanced Warfare, does so as well.
To promote this aspect of the game, Activision has announced that the Call of Duty Championship, Presented by Xbox (yes, that’s the actual name. No, I’m not making this up) will be taking place in March this year at Los Angeles in California, US. TO be specific, it will take place from March 27-29.
To lend legitimacy to the entire event, Activision is partnering with major League Gaming (MLG) as well as other eSports partners, and is offering a cash prize pool of $1 million, which is pretty insane.
“From Day 1, the team at Sledgehammer Games set out to bring a new way to play Call of Duty multiplayer to fans. We couldn’t be more thrilled of how the competitive community has embraced and mastered the new player movements and game modes of Advanced Warfare”, said Michael Condrey, Co-founder and Studio Head, Sledgehammer Games. “This is posed to be one of the most exciting Call of Duty competitive seasons with the Call of Duty Championship being one of the best eSports tournaments of the year.”
Glen Schofield, Co-Founder and Studio Head, Sledgehammer Games added: “We developed Advanced Warfare with the competitive community in mind and we can’t wait for the top talent from around the world to compete in the Call of Duty Championships.”
Even if you don’t think you can personally participate in the event, you can still watch it live, as Activision will be broadcasting the semi finals and the finals live on Sunday, March 29, on Xbox Live.
Stay tuned for more coverage on this, I guess.