Call of Duty: WWII has just been released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and during a recent discussion with Sledgehammer Games co-founder Michael Condrey, we discussed esports, and how the studio plans on committing to this side of the game going forward.
"We love engaging with our fans, the community of fans is so passionate, there is so many people who love the game and often they love watching the game as much as they love playing the game," he explained. "So whether it's esport or influencer streaming the game, we know that people love to engage. We just announced esport season for December with the biggest cash prize we ever had: $1.2 million [US] dollars in total. The European teams are really competitive now, it's exciting! The championship later next year in North America where the best teams in the world will compete. It starts on December 8 in Dallas and will finish in August."
"We also organise a race to prestige in our studio. Top players and key Influencers will come from USA and UK, they will live stream during a whole week to talk about the game and raise money for charity, Call of duty Endowment, that helps veterans to find a job and a good place in society. It's almost like a marathon; they have to reach a maximum level of prestige in game. They will play for five days, 24 hours a day, in the studio like living with the developers, eating with us, talking with us, so it's a great opportunity to see the game."
Do you think Call of Duty's esports scene is healthy this year?