Report: Call of Duty League eyeing expansion in U.S., Europe

The Call of Duty League is reportedly considering looking into adding franchises in Las Vegas, Charlotte and Washington, D.C., as well as European cities, according to the Sports Business Journal.

CDL commissioner Johanna Faries didn't confirm or deny the U.S. cities or any cities in Europe are being look at for expansion.

"(But) it's fair to assume we're hearing interest not only from North American hot beds but even across the pond in Europe and beyond," she told the Sports Business Journal.

The league is entering its second season with 12 teams, but it didn't expand for the 2021 season due to uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Faries also confirmed to the Sports Business Journal in August that Activision Blizzard Esports was talking with potential investors about buying into the league. It is unknown how much a new franchise would cost, but previous slots have sold for $25 million.

This CDL season will see 100 Thieves joining in the L.A. market and NRG's Chicago Huntsmen rebranding as Optic Chicago on the franchise side. On the gameplay side, the biggest shift will be a format of 4v4 instead of 5v5 and teams all playing Black Ops Cold War on PCs, with all events online-only to open the season.

"The pandemic presented a lot of blessings and a lot of curses in the same way most leagues were in other sports and esports," Faries said. "It has strengthened us in certain ways, we've now had the ability to take a breather, assess what went well and didn't go so well and is in need of improvement and apply some of that to the 2021 experience, so I think fans are going to see a lot more from us even in an online environment."

--Field Level Media