Management behind Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty League have decided to move the entirety of the league’s playoffs to an online format that will see the participating teams play from remote locations. The decision was based on the ongoing health and safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
In light of continued COVID-19 health risks, the CDL postseason will be held online. The League and teams are collaborating on additional competitive integrity measures to be taken. More updates to follow in delivering the best experience for all. https://t.co/nyGMEZNAI4
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) July 5, 2020
After consulting with players and team owners, the majority of teams made it clear through a vote that they believe the playoff portion of the league should be played online. While the safety of all involved was the most pressing issue during the discussions, competitive integrity issues also were discussed. Together, the league and its teams created mechanisms to help ensure an even playing field.
The league will be mandating a universal camera setup that will allow for the viewing of the players, computers, monitors, and the competition areas the players use to participate. Once the camera is in place and the area checked, the players will be required to be in their chairs and on camera. This mandate will start on July 10 prior to the start of the New York Subliners series.
Nine servers will be available for teams to use for competition. Servers used will be decided by teams in order to choose the server that helps competing teams stay close to each other in terms of latency. Latency is the time it takes for information to be sent to and from a server and if the latency is elongated, can give an advantage to competing teams that have a faster response time to the server. Each series will see three servers available from the pool of nine.
The league will also be adding production, technical, and officiating assets in order to ensure competitive integrity and enhance production value. Those assets were not described in the announcement.
