Credit: Evil Geniuses
Mentioned in this article
- Evil Geniuses will exit the Call of Duty esports scene after a five-year tenure in the game.
- The organization explicitly stated it will not take part in the Call of Duty World League (CWL) 2020 season, nor the planned city-based franchise league.
- Evil Geniuses announced its acquisition by Chicago firm PEAK6 Investments LLC in May of this year.
North American team organization Evil Geniuses 
(EG) will not be competing in Call of Duty esports next year. In a post published on its website, EG specifically said it would bow out of the CWL 2020 season, and would not take part in Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty franchise league—which currently has confirmed seven buyers, but no start date.
EG entered Call of Duty in 2014 after acquiring the roster of Complexity Gaming , and ended up taking home the trophy at last year’s CWL Championship finals. The organization, which competes in other games including Dota 2 , Fortnite , and Rainbow Six Siege , announced in May that it had been acquired by PEAK6 Investments LLC , and appointed the firm’s associate Nicole LaPointe Jameson as CEO.
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Activision Blizzard’s planned Call of Duty league will adopt a similar model to the Overwatch League , with owners acquiring franchise rights to specific cities. According to a report from ESPN, the franchise fees for the competition are priced at $25M. Like the NBA, each of the team brands must also be unique to the competition—while OpTic Gaming will play under its own brand for Los Angeles, for example, it is unlikely that EG would do the same had it bought a spot.
The Esports Observer has reached out to EG for further comment. We will update this article if we receive a response.
