Call of Duty

Among the latest CoD titles is Modern Warfare III, which also features prominently in the esports scene

Activision probably had no idea what mania they would spark by releasing Call of Duty (abbreviated CoD) in 2003. This first-person shooter (FPS) was ahead of its time and provided players with the much-desired war action. The series of twenty games (just on PC, not counting standalone mobile and console titles) is now listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling first-person shooter series. The main theme of this franchise is war, and throughout the campaigns of all games, we fight through different time periods (World War II, Cold War, near future…). Describing all the individual parts and their history would be enough for a book, so in this review, we will focus only on the latest installments. Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. Older titles still retain a few active players, but esports and Activision’s attention is focused on the latest titles.

Most popular esports games

From the trenches to space and then back to the present

The gaming industry has evolved significantly in all aspects since the beginning of the millennium. This journey can be observed throughout the Call of Duty series. Whether it’s graphics, sound design, or game scenarios, CoD has long evolved to the point it is at now. The battle-royale genre (H1Z1, Fortnite) has undergone countless changes in recent years, and old game titles have lost popularity. Among the survivors are only Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, while other battle-royale shooters have fallen into oblivion. The second mentioned game owes its success to its predecessor, Call of Duty: Warzone, which enjoyed considerable popularity. It was released in 2022 and received positive reviews from critics. The game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, released a year later, is a first-person shooter that mainly focuses on action. The main criticism of the series is its inability to come up with something new, as the main game principles do not change, and sometimes there is not even a significant improvement in a new installment. Nevertheless, players always return to the series, and today there is even an official esports league.

Mechanics and objectives

Warzone

You can play the game solo or in a group of up to four players. The goal is simple: be the last one alive. The match takes place on a large map, where up to 150 players with minimal equipment can parachute from a plane. The map contains various weapons that can be picked up and money that can be used to upgrade your equipment. The map is slowly covered by toxic smoke, which shrinks the playable area. The circle on the map continues to shrink to one random point, inevitably causing players to meet sooner or later.

CoD: Warzone game preview

Modern Warfare III

Modern Warfare III includes a single-player campaign with a story, but Call of Duty games are mainly played for their online part. In these, you can participate in several different game modes, including Team Deathmatch, but due to the scope, we will focus only on the esports aspect. In professional matches, only three modes are seen: Hardpoint, Search and Destroy and Control. There are countless maps for the game, and most game modes can be played on the same map. In both games, the ability to master shooting is very important, but here the shooting model is not as difficult to learn as in Counter Strike or Valorant. The game is generally more action-packed and arcade-like, which is also its main focus. Of course, there is also a tactical aspect, especially in professional competitions, but it is secondary.

CoD: Modern Warfare III game preview

Minimum HW requirements for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III

• Operating system: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
• Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 480 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650/GeForce GTX 970
• DirectX: 12.0
• RAM: 12 GB
• Hard drive: 65 GB
• Internet connection

Minimum HW requirements for Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0

• Operating system: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-6100 / Core™ i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen™ 3 1200
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 Radeon RX 470
• DirectX: 12.0
• RAM: 8 GB
• Hard drive: 125 GBInternet connection

Don’t like your warrior? Change their appearance with skins!

Today, there are few multiplayer games that do not have a microtransaction system within them. This helps the publisher earn money, and thanks to this, we get free-to-play game models. It is no different with Call of Duty, where you can purchase cosmetic modifications of character and weapon appearances with real money. I will not distinguish between the two games discussed in the article here, as the principle is the same for both. With skins, you can change the appearance of your weapons and characters, and it may happen that instead of two proud soldiers, a rabbit and Nicki Minaj participate in the fight. An important element of CoD skins is their non-transferability between accounts, which means they are unsellable and have no resale value. This distinguishes them from skins that exist on the digital distribution platform Steam.

Call of esports? Not quite…

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 does not have an official esports scene. This is due to the type of game that Warzone is. Up to 150 players can participate in one match, and from an organizational point of view, this would be quite a challenge. The second reason is lack of appeal to viewers, which has already been tested by older battle royale titles. However, you may occasionally encounter community competitions, where the goal is usually to get the most victories or kills in a set time. On the other hand, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is doing better in esports. It has an official competitive league, directly supported by Activision. CoD matches are popular mainly in North America, while they do not enjoy such popularity elsewhere in the world. Call of Duty League 2024 is divided into several rounds. The qualification is played online, and the winners advance to the main part of the tournament, which is the Major. This is played four times a year, and based on the results of the teams participating, it is decided who will advance to the main event, the Call of Duty League 2024 Championship. Many bookmakers regularly include betting opportunities on competitive CoD matches in their offers. There are also regional competitions, but these are organized by third parties and are unofficial. Currently, there is no Call of Duty league in the Czech Republic, although there have been attempts to establish one in the past. The Call of Duty series is a legend among games today, and Activision ensures that we get a new installment every year. However, the game does not change fundamentally, and we fear that this could be a stumbling block in the future. CoD currently has a wide player base and is still one of the best war games available.

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2️⃣ Do bookmakers cover Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III?

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Peter Broz

Article author – esports expert
Email: peter@slothbet.com

I came into contact with playing computer games long before a billion-dollar business with professional teams emerged around them. Although I never reached the professional level, I still have many acquaintances among the top esports players today. At SlothBet, I will primarily contribute to the esports section.

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