Call of Duty League: A Cut to Guaranteed Revenues Plunges Teams into Uncertainty

A few days before the resumption of competition on Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard has broken its silence. The FPS publisher has unveiled the new format of the COD League, whose 2026 season will begin on December 5, while presenting several competitive adjustments. The American giant also announced the return of broadcasts on Twitch as well as the organization of the first Major of the year in Paris. The choice is motivated by the enthusiasm generated by Gentle Mates’ first season, despite mixed results.

While these announcements helped maintain high expectations around the launch of the new season, another piece of news hit the scene like a ton of bricks. Starting with the 2026 season, the publisher is removing the guaranteed revenue for league teams, historically set at $500,000 per year. A decision pushed by massive operating costs and top players being paid extreme salaries, which can exceed $400,000 per year. As a result, teams fear that operating at too great a loss will force them to revise their ambitions.

Already in April 2024, the CDL announced two major structural changes: the cancellation of all unpaid entry fees and the reimbursement of fees already paid by teams to the league. According to certain sources, ex-franchised teams thus received $2,000,000 from the publisher. Activision hopes these changes strengthen the long-term viability of the league and increase team revenue through new channels in-game, such as sales or bundles.

The publisher’s decision was made three years ago, involving a gradual reduction of the share allocated to the global pool—shifting from a 50/50 split to 75/25, before being phased out entirely. The guaranteed amount from the publisher was around $500,000, enough for teams to ensure payment of almost the entire roster; as a reminder, the annual minimum salary for a player is correlated with the legal minimum of the relevant U.S. state.

The model announced for 2026 appears far less reassuring. From now on, teams will only receive the proportional share of their sales, with early estimates of around $100,000 for some clubs. This model directly impacts clubs struggling to sell enough items, which could spell uncertainty for their future.

In the first half of 2025, Activision reportedly sold more than 360,000 skins bearing the likeness of franchised teams. These skins are sold at $12 each, amounting to a total of more than $4.3M to be shared between the publisher and the teams. Among the top sellers, Faze Clan is ahead of Thieves by more than 50,000 units. They sold 120,000+ bundles at mid-year, for a total amount of around €720,000, of which €540,000 went to FaZe. Gentle Mates, for their part, sold just under 60,000 units.

However, the world champions are almost an exception in a league where the average over the 2025 period is around 30,000 units sold ($135,000 in revenue share per team), and where several teams stagnated under $50,000. These disparities had made the original revenue share particularly relevant for ensuring a form of equity within the league. The new system will therefore be especially penalizing for teams that fail to generate sales.

This drop in revenue is even more harmful as it comes in the context of rising expenses resulting from salary inflation. A team composed of four players can sometimes cost more than one million dollars in salaries, and certain star players exceed $400,000 per year. Salaries have been boosted by competition among clubs to attract star players such as Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez, Thomas “Scrappy” Ernst, or Travis “Neptune” McCloud.

Faced with this change, some teams are categorical: “Everyone will operate at a loss, except maybe FaZe, 100 Thieves, Gentlemates, and OpTic,” an organization member tells us anonymously. “We are going to revise the budget allocated to Call of Duty so that it is more aligned with this new economic reality.”

The removal of guaranteed revenue has created a clear fracture within the Call of Duty League. On one side, cautious organizations see the 2026 season as an almost untenable equation. On the opposite end of the spectrum, some teams approach 2026 with certain optimism. For them, the reform does not signal the collapse of the model. On the contrary, it opens a field of opportunities that few publishers offer today.

Contacted by Sheep Esports, a representative of one of these teams explains: “Activision gives a lot of freedom: sponsors, jersey, creation of in-game items… All of that is in the hands of the teams. Unlike other publishers, you can really work on your branding and generate sales from it.”

According to this team, this autonomy has become a decisive competitive advantage. Whereas some organizations relied on the guaranteed minimum to absorb their costs, teams capable of creating a strong identity now have a direct and measurable lever: their ability to sell to their fans. “They are open, available, and honestly ready to co-build things with the teams. It’s very different from the Overwatch League where everything was locked down.”

This identity building perfectly supports one of the historical pillars of the COD scene: the culture of competition, often overshadowed in economic debates. “All the teams play, take part in LANs no matter what, and there is always room for real stories,” the same source said.

As a result, the CDL now finds itself split into two blocs. Clubs that believe that the cut to guaranteed revenue marks a brutal return to economic reality, with a massive destabilization risk for the most fragile structures, and clubs convinced that this unrestricted framework could finally allow the league to move closer to a viable model, where competitive performance and branding quality outweigh publisher subsidies.

For now, neither camp is truly wrong. The 2026 season will be the judge: either the CDL manages to capitalize on this new freedom, or it will widen the gap between well-structured clubs… and clubs on life support.

Designed as a premium circuit modeled after traditional sports leagues, the CDL is colliding with the economic reality of modern esports: exploding costs, stagnant revenues, and a sharing model that no longer delivers on its promises. By drastically reducing guaranteed revenues, Activision is sending a clear signal: the viability of the CDL will now depend on its ability to generate value itself, rather than on the generosity of its publisher.

The coming months will tell whether this forced restructuring will allow the league to refocus on a healthier economy or whether, on the contrary, it will mark the beginning of a slow disengagement of the most fragile structures.