Press Release Details

Season Features the Largest Overall Prize Pool in Call of Duty Esports History; Global Open Events Begin with CWL Dallas Open on December 8

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, the Call of Duty® World League revealed plans for its biggest season yet beginning with the CWL Dallas Global Open on December 8. The new season featuring Call of Duty: WWII will offer six LAN Global Open events, a new CWL National Circuit, the CWL Pro League at the MLG Arena, the return of the Call of Duty World League Championship and the largest total prize pool in Call of Duty Esports history, $4.2 million.

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CWL 2018 Season Structure (Graphic: Business Wire)

The CWL Pro League competition, a multi-stage LAN series in which CWL Pro Points determine placement and tournament seeding, kicks off on January 23, 2018. The Pro league will feature two divisions of eight teams competing at the MLG Arena in Columbus, Ohio, presenting fans with more matches and action per stage.

This season will introduce the CWL National Circuit, composed of eight online leagues in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, UK and US. Throughout the four stages of online competition, teams will compete for CWL Pro Points, travel and accommodation to a Global Open and, in the final stage, entry to the Last Chance Qualifier for the 2018 Call of Duty World League Championship.

"We can't wait to start the new season of the Call of Duty World League. Beginning in Dallas in December and continuing all season long, CWL players and fans are in for the biggest season yet in Call of Duty Esports history," said Executive Vice President and General Manager of Call of Duty, Rob Kostich. "This season will feature Call of Duty: WWII, and offer more opportunities to compete, view and experience the CWL through more open LAN events, the highly competitive Pro League and the all-new CWL National Circuit. This is shaping up to be a great season full of exciting new competition, rivalries and great gameplay."

The new season of the CWL will officially get underway online on November 3, 2017, with the release of Activision's Call of Duty: WWII, developed by Sledgehammer Games with additional development support from Raven Software. On launch day, regional ladders in MLG GameBattles - the official destination for earning CWL Pro Points online - will begin for teams in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions.

The 2018 Call of Duty World League Championship will return in August 2018 and will feature a $1.5 million event prize pool. Additional details for the 2018 Championship will be revealed at a later date.

The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, TX, will host the year's first Global Open event. CWL Dallas Global Open runs December 8-10. Tickets and information are available now at MLG.tv/CWLDallas.

For further details on the new season of the Call of Duty World League:

• Six Massive Open LANs for CWL Pro Points, each featuring a $200,000 Prize Pool
  • Dallas, TX — December 8-10
  • New Orleans, LA — January 12-14
  • Atlanta, GA — March 9-11
  • Three additional Global Open events to be revealed
• CWL Pro League Returns to MLG Arena in Columbus, beginning in January 2018
  • Two divisions of eight teams compete this season in each Stage, expanding League play to fourteen matches per Stage
  • Broadcast moving to Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
  • Top four teams in each division move onto the playoffs
  • $200,000 prize pool distributed during Stage competition
  • $500,000 prize pool on the line at each Stage playoff
    • Stage 1 begins January 23 - March 22
    • Playoffs for Stage 1 begin April 6
    • Stage 2 begins May 15 - July 19
    • Playoffs for Stage 2 begin July 27
• New CWL National Circuit
  • Competition for top teams that did not qualify for the Call of Duty World League
  • Regional competition, eight online leagues: Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, UK and US
  • 3,000 CWL Pro Points awarded to each winning team per stage, plus $1000 prize pool for winner, and travel and accommodations to attend a select Global Open event or Last Chance Qualifier
    • Stage 1 — January 26 - February 16
    • Stage 2 — March 16 - April 13
    • Stage 3 — May 11 - June 1
    • Stage 4 — June 22 - July 13
• Call of Duty World League Championship will return in 2018
  • 32 teams from around the globe compete for $1.5 million prize pool
  • Additional details coming soon
• Online competition in MLG GameBattles for CWL Pro Points in all eligible regions beginning on November 3, 2017
  • All qualification and seeding is based on CWL Pro Points, awarded to registered players
  • Points belong to the player, not the team
• Fifteen Online CWL 2K Tournaments Throughout the Season
  • 2,000 CWL Pro Points per tournament and cash prizing to winners - planned for the season per region; first tournament slated for November 12.

CWL Dallas Open tickets are available in multiple varieties. General admission passes for the event are available for $59.99 (plus applicable fees and taxes). A Premium Pass for the event is also available for $89.99 (plus applicable fees and taxes) and includes an event t-shirt and one month of MLG GameBattles Premium. A $399.99 (plus applicable fees and taxes) VIP ticket is also available and includes an event t-shirt, event jacket, one-hour early entrance to the venue, access to the VIP Lounge and more. For tickets, visit MLG.tv/CWLDallas.

Visit CallofDuty.com/esports and follow the Call of Duty World League on Twitter and Instagram for the latest CWL updates. For live broadcasts and Video on Demand, visit MLG.tv/CallofDuty.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com or by following @Activision.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the expected dates, features and events of the Call of Duty World League, including the CWL Dallas Global Open, CWL Pro League, CWL National Circuit and Call of Duty World League Championship, as well as the release dates and MLG GameBattles functionality for Call of Duty: WWII, are forward-looking statements, that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

© 2017 Major League Gaming Corp. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY and CALL OF DUTY: WWII are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING is a trademark of Major League Gaming Corp. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171025006142/en/

Call of Duty World League
Xav de Matos
Public Relations
424-242-5247
xav.dematos@activision.com

Source: Activision Publishing, Inc.

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