The Call of Duty League no longer has a full-time team of observers for broadcasts, it’s been claimed.
Josh Lee, a former operator of freecam OBS for the CDL, claimed on Twitter/X today that the team of six full-time observers has been let go by the league, just days after wrapping up Major One in Boston for the 2024 CoD season.
“There are no longer any more full-time observers for the CoD League as the remainder of Hot Hands Lounge was let go after the conclusion of the Boston Major,” Lee said of the team of six. “All of those years of work and development the team put in has just been wiped. CoD esports will never be the same again.”
Lee went on to clarify that “a few” of the team will continue working on CDL shows as contractors and will “continue to put in our best, but, the way the path ended for us was still heartbreaking.”
“This really seemed like one of the few OBS roles in the industry that might’ve led to some stability and impact, but alas,” he said.
The removal of the broadcasting team as full-timers is likely an extension of Microsoft’s 2,000 layoffs from last week, which affected multiple aspects and studios of Activision Blizzard’s gaming department, including MW3 maker Sledgehammer Games, which lost about 30 percent of its staff.
This also makes the future of the CDL itself seem quite dire in light of the news. With Activision Blizzard already shutting the doors on the Overwatch League in favor of a global circuit run by FACEIT, it seems plausible that something similar could happen in CoD esports after this season.
The 2024 CDL season will continue with Major Two qualifier matches kicking off on Feb. 16.
