According to influencermarketinghub.com, it is expected that there will be 557 million eSports viewers around the world by 2021. This is an increase of more than 14% from the year before. While Call of Duty may not be among the biggest eSports titles, it could be argued that the Activision franchise was one of the main catalysts that sparked the booming eSports sector.

Call of Duty Kick Started Online Gaming

Call of Duty is one of the longest-running and most successful game franchises of all time and, according to www.tweaktown.com, in fifteen years it has shipped more than 300 million copies. It began with Call of Duty in 2003, which focused on World War II. Since then there have been a further fifteen games in the revolutionary series with varying themes.

The franchise has always put a strong emphasis on multiplayer gaming and cooperation between players. This made it the ideal game for the online gaming scene as this began to grow on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The main Call of Duty Online mode was announced in 2011 after Activision had expressed interest in creating an MMO title. The popularity of the franchise at that point made the online mode an instant hit worldwide.

In addition to the free-to-play version, each of the Call of Duty titles for the most recent generation of consoles has had its own online multiplayer mode. Because of the success of Call of Duty and its worldwide fame, it has helped online multiplayer games become one of the game industry’s most lucrative genres. This also sparked interest in the eSports sector, which heavily on first-person shooters.

Now Growing as a Popular Title in eSports

Despite Call of Duty being one of the most successful game franchises ever made, it doesn’t even make the top ten of the most-watched eSports on Twitch.tv. The main titles in terms of spectator figures are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Dota 2. These titles have been in the business from the start, and have gained this stature over many years.

The Activision game could become one of the giants in the years to come, though. In recent years, Call of Duty has made a name for itself as a competitive gaming title. There are now numerous betting markets for the game. According to vulkanbet.com/en/call-of-duty, one of the most appealing aspects of betting on COD is that there are so many different scenarios that you can stake on. This includes options like guessing in which round a team will be eliminated, in addition to staples such as the winning team.

The popularity of Call of Duty and its long history as a multiplayer-focused game helped the online gaming movement really get going. This, in turn, led to the eSports industry growing so quickly from around 2012 onwards. Hopefully, COD will soon gain the recognition it deserves as one of the biggest eSports.