Could Warzone Introduce an Official Warzone League?

Warzone has taken the Call of Duty world by storm. Over 60 Million players have dropped into Verdansk, and Modern Warfare broke Activision’s sales record for the first quarter of a year, as the highest-selling Call of Duty ever. Warzone’s popularity has attracted the worlds best battle-royale streamers, many of those from Fortnite. Streamers, competitors, and content creators such as Ninja, Nickmercs, Tfue, Aydan, Symfuhny and many more have either made the switch over to Warzone or dipped their toes in, playing both. However, many of those that have made the swap from Fortnite has gone back to Epic’s best-seller to compete in their official tournaments, begging the question, is there scope for a professional Warzone League?

How would this work?

There are two systems that could work. The first being kill races. Competitions such as KEEMSTARS Warzone Wednesdays pitch players together in a single-elimination kill race competition, where two teams of two will join a quads lobby and get as many kills as possible, with the winners being the pair with the highest number of kills after a number of games (normally 3 or 5).

This format could be adapted to work in a competitive scene. When we look at how Fortnite’s competitive system works, kill races could be an interesting system. They award points for kills and placement finishes within ranked lobbies to gain qualification to the finals, before pitching teams against each other in lobbies where they again earn points for places and kills, but in much harder lobbies.

We have seen Warzone Weekends (the CDL format) pit players in to a private Warzone lobby for the first time since conception, meaning this format is feasible and could see many great players go up against each other and choose whether they want to push for qualification.

The only flaw with this system is that Activision / Infinity Ward have been reluctant to have any sort of ranking system within Warzone, and other recent instalments of the Call of Duty franchise. It is unlikely that we will see one in the future.

The other system would be similar to how Warzone Weekends and the Call of Duty League already works. Having a league system with, for instance having 12 set teams (likely to be a lot more but this is how the CDL works as an example) compete in a league each weekend, with 8 teams playing each week on a rotational basis. Points will be determined in a similar fashion, with kills and placements, but the league will be set for the season, such as the CDL is. They would compete in a private lobby with three games per gameweek, and at the end of the season, a playoff system could be implemented, with perks being given to the teams with the highest positions in the ordinary leagues.

Warzone Weekends has been enthralling to watch so far, with some 1000 IQ plays, such as Lacefield's quad-kill from a chopper.

This format does differ from the intensity of kill races, trading the skill it takes to hunt down opponents, for big brain plays and team camaraderie.

Is a Warzone League Possible?

There are pros and cons to both of the systems, however, Activision has never shied away from implementing imperfect mechanics and systems into the game. Every game mode is inherently flawed, and people will never be satisfied, but they would be crazy not to consider implementing a league. The ultimate goal for Activision is financially motivated, and a Warzone League could be just the system that can push Warzone ahead of Fortnite in revenue. The Call of Duty League has an insane but-in price, and if they choose the latter system they could also franchise the league to be exclusive to teams, which would inevitably make them a lot of money off the free-to-play game. Also, if the latter Fortnite-like system was implemented, Epic Games still make a lot from sponsorships and media rights, which could be transferrable to Warzone. This is completely feasible.

Would it be sustainable?

Simply, yes. Warzone is set to stay. Already highly rumoured to be available on Call of Duty: 2020 (Black Ops Cold War), Warzone will be staying for the foreseeable future, meaning even though Modern Warfare may be entering the latter half of it’s tenure, Warzone isn’t, and it’s only just started. Introducing Warzone to esports would only add to its sustainability.

Warzone Weekends will be able to be viewed on YouTube this Sunday before the third day of the Paris Home Series. When you tune in imagine this every week in a league format.

Stay tuned at GGRecon for more Warzone and CDL related news.

Image via Activision