Breaking News: 100Thieves Announce Departure from the Call of Duty League
It’s a sad day for Call of Duty fans and it keeps getting sadder. Nadeshot and 100Thieves revealed today that they to would not be participating in the CDL next year. Many fans reacted with disappointment as they had looked forward to supporting a 100Thieves Call of Duty roster in the new year, yet the reasoning
Citing issues with the required separate brand for teams and the high cost with return on investment (ROI), the World Championship Runner-Ups announced in a video posted to Twitter this afternoon.
Nadeshot’s Somber Farewell
Nadeshot, looking rather sadly somber in the video, while thanked everyone he worked with in the CoD scene, including the team’s players.
He explained that the financial commitment to the game was too great for the org, especially as they are still establishing their brand and identity in the space. He also said that buying into the spot would jeopardize the hard work everyone had already put into it.
100Thieves, only existing for the past few years, would struggle immensely to build their brand, but also a brand-new CoD team that would be required to have its own.
Referencing the decision by Activision to make the league city-based like its “cousin” the Overwatch League, he also stated the team was not ready to “put their flag in one place and say ‘this is our home.’”
Stating that they could pull it off if the org put everything they had behind it, Nadeshot and 100Thieves concluded the risk to the company and everyone working there financially would be too great.
Between all the previously mentioned work and setting up a local ground team, it would be too much for them to handle at this time.
He did, however, comment that this wouldn’t be the last time we see a 100Thieves Call of Duty roster. The team would one day try to return to the scene in some capacity.
My Thoughts
While it is incredibly sad to see 100Thieves leave the CoD scene, their birthplace and home, I have to commend Nadeshot and the team for being brave enough to admit publicly that the costs were too high, and the risks too great to get into the CDL. To me, it shows a very mature and business savvy organization, one that truly gets how careful you need to be running a team, in such a new and fragile scene as esports.
This isn’t the last we’ve seen of 100Thieves in CoD, hopefully, but based on what I watched and seen, if I had to pick one that will still be around in 50 years, I’d give it to 100Thieves.
Losing orgs
The loss of 100Thieves follows the earlier discussed exit from the scene of LG, Gen.G, and Reciprocity, all of which have either been declined spots after applying or refused to apply altogether.
Many fans criticized Activision for throwing away the history and teams that had built and kept CoD going for all these years in the pursuit of profits. Many more have worried if the league will succeed at all or will just be the death of pro Call of Duty.
We’ll continue to update you as we hear more on what teams get the last spots in the league.
Comments