COVID-19 has had a massive impact on the gaming industry, and unfortunately,Call of Duty Mobileis no different. For professionalCall of Duty Mobileplayers competing in the game’s World Championship, the disappointing news that the Finals have been canceled surely came as a shock.
Fans of theincredibly successfulCall of Duty Mobilehad been watching the tournament for several weeks, with lengthy preliminary bouts knocking out teams in the lead-up to Stage 5. While everything seemed to have been going well, a post was made on theCall of Duty MobileTwitter account that shared the cancellation news with the public. With Activision seeing “the well-being of our players, fans, and communities” as a priority, the tough decision to cancel was made.
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The Call of Duty Mobile World Championship Finals is hardly the only live event to have been canceled due to the coronavirus. Back in March, the Call of Duty League canceled its Home Series events. Around that same time, the Overwatch League saw its matches delayed for several months, with E3 2020 also being canceled due to complications with COVID-19. Most recently, Valve seems to havecanceledCS: GO’s Spring Major Championshipas well, giving players of the Call of Duty Mobile World Championship some sense of solidarity.
ConsideringCall of Duty Mobile’s massive player base, there surely would have been plenty of eyes on the finale had it happened. While nobody had planned for the heavily hyped tournament to end in such a way, it is undeniable that people from around the world “traveling to a hosted, live event” would have presented some unnecessary health risks. Though it is a shame that a proper World Champion will not be decided, at least the prize money is still being handed out to the runner-ups.
As mentioned in the post, “the remaining prize money will be distributed evenly across the Stage 4: Regional Playoffs Champions.” With $750,000 originally up for grabs, each of the remaining teams will be getting $94,000 for their efforts in the tournament. This is a respectable move on the part of theCall of Duty Mobileteam, and one that should be responded to positively by even the most annoyed of fans. The post concluded with a line that mentioned more plans forCall of Duty Mobile’s competitive play, ensuring that this cancelled event will not be the last competition ever held for the game.
In more positiveCall of Duty Mobilenews,Season 13 is on the way, bringing new maps and weapons to the popular mobile game. While the inclusion of new content is not enough to completely make up for the tournament’s premature ending, it is good to see, nonetheless.
Call of Duty Mobileis available now on Android and iOS mobile devices.
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