Team spaces in Call of Duty esports league reportedly cost $25m each
Preparations begin for franchised, city-based competition around Activision's flagship shooter
Esports teams will need to pay $25 million each if they want to take place in Activision Blizzard's new Call of Duty league.
That's according to ESPN, whose sources report the publisher is in the initial stages of the sales process for a city-based franchised esports competition around the best-selling FPS series.
Potential buyers have already been meeting with Activision Blizzard, including a mix of established Call of Duty esports teams and ownership groups from the Overwatch League. They have been asked for a non-binding indication of interest within the next fortnight.
The $25m entry fee is higher than Activision Blizzard's previous franchised esports outing. In 2017, Overwatch League slots were sold for $20 million per franchise.
For further comparison, Variety reports Riot Games charged $10 million to take part in the North American League Championship Series, while Forbes says the fee for the firm's European competition was €10.5 million ($13.02 million) last year.
Activision Blizzard has been ramping up its efforts in the esports space, primarily with Overwatch thus far. Last year, it hired NFL and NBA veterans to form a new internal esports division to better grow this side of the business.
The new Call of Duty league is set to begin in 2020.