Call of Duty Mobile has a very young audience and wants to highlight the players’ genuineness and their humble roots.
At the Tempest Awards in Las Vegas, the Call of Duty Mobile Championship was deemed the Best Mobile Gaming Event/League. Mobile gaming is taking off in a big way and Call of Duty Mobile is at the forefront to reap the benefits.
The mobile version of the popular PC game has a significant player base that is growing with time. The esports side of the game has also seen rapid growth and the low entry barrier means it is accessible to a large portion of the community.
The first-ever Call of Duty Mobile World Championships will take place later this year after the last edition was canceled due to the pandemic. It will feature a $2 million prize pool with sixteen teams in the competition.
Esports.gg's Dustin Steiner spoke with David Kramer, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Call of Duty Mobile at the Tempest Awards.
Dustin Steiner: What's it like setting up a mobile league for Call of Duty? Is it any different than running a league in PC?
David Kramer: I think the biggest takeaway is that since we have such a global community, you can't forget anybody. Our fans and players are very vocal, so if we forgot someone in a region, we hear it. With the launch, and a lot of learnings from last year and our esports YouTube Channel, we are able to tell the stories, we are able to find the players and really bring them up. I think that's the big difference-maker. We want to show our players as genuine as they are and their humble roots. The big difference is really highlighting everybody in the scene.
Steiner: Anti-cheating is a big deal in PC and console gaming. What type of Anti-cheat does CODM employ? Is it something that the league is actively worried about?
Kramer: We've done a really good job with that this year. Our sponsor is Sony for World Championships. We require everybody to use Xperia devices and we can just tell if they are using it or not.
Steiner: Do you guys have any communication with the traditional CoD side in terms of the structure of the League?
Kramer: Yes and No. It's really different because ours is an open qualifier and then we do a handful of invitational events. We have a really close relationship with that side of the business and we are just making sure we are in sync, on a more personal level to learn from each other. They have so much experience so we look to that for some of that experience and see how we can help each other.
Steiner: What things have you learned from how the other esports events have grown and been able to exponentially expand a lot. What takeaways do you have from that?
Kramer: I think the biggest segway we have had this year is that you can't really do the same thing twice. Even though you might have the same program year-to-year you need to find a way to give fans something they long for. So I think, moving forward it is going to be all about what's the next coolest fun thing we can do in terms of media of esports.
Steiner: Has there been any thought about franchising in CODM?
Kramer: As of right now, for the past two years, esports is a marketing vessel for us. So we'll see what the future holds. Everything is an option.
Steiner: Has there been any interest from Major esports brands in launching their own CODM teams? Any of the CDL brands?
Kramer: NYSL picked up a team this year. We are really hoping we can work with those teams more and give them opportunities and exposure to our audience. Hopefully we see more of them coming in cause all the teams we've met with are all great people. I think that's what honestly makes our game great as we find those group of people to work with.
Steiner: Is there a big difference in demographic in CODM compared to console or PC?
Kramer: There definitely is. It's a very young audience. It’s a very young player base. I would say they are very vocal. As crazy as it gets sometimes, it’s just awesome because that just leads us to listen. Trying to give what creators are calling out for, regions that are calling out for gives us an opportunity to serve those communities as authentically and genuinely as we can.
Steiner: Anything you want to add for the Call of Duty players that are reading this article?
Kramer: Keep grinding. Come back next year. We honestly love to see players grow. We hope to continue to make content with them and make stories.
