Above: CWL 2018.
GamesBeat: Blackout can be very random sometimes. You probably don’t want that in an esport.
Puryear: There is a random element to Blackout, yeah. Right now, though, the focus for us is the kickoff season of CWL here in Vegas, the multiplayer competition. Blackout is part of Black Ops 4, so whatever we can do to help fans and give them something to do, really bring that experience, is important for us. But the big focus is the kickoff of the new CWL season.
Apicella: I will say one thing to close out on the Blackout topic. What’s really cool, I think, from a competitive standpoint is that the same stars that we have in 5v5, with the same gun skills, that’s all Black Ops 4. When they are maybe between CWL matches in their off time, they can play Blackout, stream it, entertain their fans, and practice the same gun skills they’ll take back to multiplayer. For us, it’s one big immersive product in Call of Duty.
GamesBeat: This new update we’ve been talking about in the news, with the new specialist, is that going to make its way into the tournament version of the game?
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Puryear: We always evaluate new content once it’s available to the public. We’ve added DLC maps to the rotation. The introduction of a new specialist is something we’ll look at. We’ll talk to the pro players and the league operators with Adam’s team to make sure that everybody’s happy with the content.
GamesBeat: When you step back, do you think Call of Duty has advantages over other kinds of esports games out there?
Puryear: From the game side, one of the great things about Call of Duty in general when it comes to multiplayer is that at its core, it’s competitive. Because it’s competitive, it lends itself so nicely to esports. Everyone wants to know who’s the best team and who’s the best player. Being able to come to a format like this and get the best players from around the world to participate in an event, knowing how competitive it can be — Call of Duty is set up perfectly to be a great esport not only to watch — but to participate in.
Above: CWL 2018 day one.
Apicella: Jay and I have been doing this for a long time. I was at MLG originally, and I’ve operated a lot of titles over my career. We’ve been partnered up for a decade running Call of Duty esports. The big advantage Call of Duty has — it’s not a layup to have 256 teams here. It’s not a layup to have almost 2,000 competitors.
Not every game can do that. Call of Duty is one of the only games on the planet where this many people will come to compete live. That’s powerful. You put that many people in the room competing at one game, it’s incredible to witness that in person. That’s a huge advantage for Call of Duty, that energy that goes along with the game and the esports aspect of it.
Puryear: Adding to that, the ability to go from — we were at 4v4, and we went to 5v5. Everybody jumped on and got a fifth member for their team. Again, that shows how the appetite and the number of people who want to compete at the highest level, it’s all there. We just made it so an extra buddy gets to come along for the ride.
GamesBeat: Do you see some of the same teams and team members coming back and being the best in the new format?
Puryear: Right. We’ve seen some teams stick together and pick up a fifth. We’ve seen other teams really look at — a team dynamic is so unique to each player and each team. Being able to give them the opportunity and letting them know fairly early on in the process that we were going 5v5 — giving them the time to practice and get ready for the season, we’re finding that the teams are really enjoying themselves. I’ve had a chance to walk around and talk to a handful of teams and players, as well as some owners, and they’re excited about what the 5v5 format is going to bring this year.
Above: CWL 2018.
GamesBeat: Do you have ambitions to grow this into something more like the Overwatch League, something on that scale? And how would you get there?
Apicella: Right now, we’re focused on the 2019 season. We continue to grow the program year over year. This year, we have more prize money. The events are bigger and grander. We’ve leveled up everything, every year since we launched CWL. Our focus is continuing to grow the program in front of us. We love what Overwatch is doing, and we’re proud of our sister team here at Activision Blizzard, but we’re focused on what we have in front of us right now.
Puryear: The fact that we’re sold out for the first event means nothing but good things for the future of Call of Duty esports. We’ve had to turn teams away. We sold out of spectator passes. We have a great venue here at Hard Rock. It’s turning into a wonderful opening event. It’s only going to build more momentum to help us grow through the rest of the season.
