Nadeshot explains why he thinks Activision is wrong to use Warzone for CDL viewership

100 Thieves founder Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag has explained why he doesn’t agree with Activision Blizzard’s plans to use battle royale hit Warzone to drive viewership to the Call of Duty League.

Since the CoD League was first franchised back in 2019, there have been numerous groups of thinking in regards to how the league can drive viewership and better integrate casual players into the competitive space.

With the boom of Warzone, it seemed to many that the battle royale title could be the perfect way to bring players into the competitive sphere, and according to Nadeshot, Activision themselves agree.

Nadeshot, though, disagrees and has explained his frustration with the mindset and overall situation.

During the LA Thieves pre-show, as Nadeshot, Ian ‘Enable’ Wyatt, and GM Eric ‘Muddawg’ Sanders discussed the current news and upcoming season, Nade spoke a little about the CDL’s drawbacks and shared his opinion on them.

• Read More: CDL 2022 season: Standings and schedule

“I’ve heard rumbles that Warzone is going to continue to be a priority from a competitive standpoint and hoping in bringing in new members that are interested in competitive Call of Duty,” he explained. “I don’t agree with that thesis. I don’t agree with that strategy.

“I think Warzone and competitive Call of Duty are completely different products and should be treated as such. I understand the frame of thought if you don’t understand the nuances of competitive Call of Duty, but nobody is going to watch a Warzone tournament with CDL players and then think to themselves ‘I gotta go watch them play on stage.’”

Timestamp 13:30

Nade added that the issue starts with ranked play, saying that “there has to be ranked play from launch.”

He also added that events need to start from December, rather than in February, striking while the iron is hot, before repeating that he “doesn’t agree with the Warzone strategy.”

The CDL has already announced Warzone tournaments as part of the CDL season, with a mid-season tournament likely seeing top CDL pros face off against Warzone’s finest, and after that we can get a better idea of how much the game can really help the competitive side of CoD.