CDL Twitch return for 2023 season already paying off after kickoff boom

The Call of Duty League made its long-awaited to Twitch with the 2023 Kickoff Weekend, and it looks to already be paying off compared to years past. 

When the Call of Duty League made the switch to streaming YouTube, many fans longed for it to make a return to Twitch. 

The move to YouTube gave fans an easier way to go back and watch matches after they’d concluded, especially as they were uploaded separately in pretty speedy time, but it lacked something compared to years past. Many fans complained about the discovery of streams and chatting culture as well. 

Well, with the start of the 2023 season, the CDL made the switch back to Twitch, much to the delight of many fans. And, it looks as if the switch is going to pay off in a pretty big way. 

CDL 2023 kickoff weekend Twitch viewership beats previous two seasons

The 2023 Kickoff Weekend started on December 3rd, marking the beginning of the Stage 1 Major qualifiers – and it had a fair share of controversy after OpTic Texas forfeited their match against Minnesota Rokkr. 

That didn’t turn viewers away, however, as the peak of the event – OpTic’s second game, which was against Florida Mutineers – was bigger than the last two years combined.

As per stats from escharts, the viewership for the Kickoff Weekend peaked at just a shade under 193,000 viewers. That includes the main CDL stream, as well as others who may have been hosting their own separate watch parties. 

The event managed an average of just under 125,000 viewers, which is an encouraging number for the first weekend of the season. 

Of course, having drops for Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 help, but it’s clear that there is plenty of interest in the new CDL season. We’ll just have to wait and see how it goes as things unfold.