With 2016 just around the corner, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike and DOTA 2 each make plans to bring eSports to the next level with their own extensive series.
Call of Duty announced its very own eSports league set to launch January 2016 with a combined $3 million prize pool and an amateur division that will fight to qualify for an annual COD championship.
The Call of Duty eSports twitter dropped the information this morning and pointed readers to the Activision games blog for more details. The World League will host live-streamed tournaments from different regions throughout the year and give undiscovered amateur talent the chance to make it to the championship held in the fall.
The league will consist of two divisions: the Pro Division and the Challenge divison. The Pro Division will be held in North America, Australia, and Europe across two seasons and will kick off January in the states. A regional LAN championship will conclude each season and be available to watch online or at a physical location.
As the Pro season progresses the results determine which teams advance to the championship. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Challenge Division will pit amateur teams against each other in official LAN events that also lead to the championship where teams in both divisions will compete.
This announcement comes side-by-side with a release from Turner Broadcasting and WME|IMG that has the network hosting two eSports seasons of their own in 2016. The 10-week-long seasons will be hosted in front of a live crowd at Turner Studios and feature one of CODs biggest rivals, Counter-Strike. Based in Atlanta, the matches will be shown online each week of the season and aired Friday nights on TBS.
President of Turner Sports Lenny Daniels said the TBS league could also branch out to other eSports titles in the future.
At Festhalle Masse in Frankfurt, Germany, DOTA 2 throws its hat into the ring this November as the Frankfurt Major will kick off and sport a $3 million prize pool as well. This event is held over six days and marks yet another eSports league that will take place in a series of marquee tournaments held around the globe all year.
Attendance is open to the public every day of the Major besides the finals November 21, where a €50 ticket will be needed for entrance.
To stay up to date with both eSports undertakings, follow Call of Duty on Twitter @eSportsCOD, DOTA 2 @DOTA2 and Counter-Strike @ESLCS, and be sure to keep logging on to Power Up Gaming for the rest of your gaming updates.