When Blizzard announced that it wanted to franchise Overwatch teams and integrate them into the Overwatch League, its own championship, they met some resistance from the community, but, according to reporter and podcaster Richard Lewis, Activision wants to follow the same path as Blizzard and franchise Call of Duty esports.
"Activision have openly communicated to these brands their intention to run a similar league for their Call of Duty series," Lewis said on his website. "While still in the very early stages of planning the launch date could be as soon as six months after the Overwatch League becomes active."
Call of Duty esports is far more developed in the United States than anywhere else, and the teams over there are big powerhouses that have evolved in the pro circuit for years, in particular teams like Evil Geniuses, FaZe, or even Optic Gaming. All these teams may well want to be franchised, then, since they would definitely be installed on the CoD esports scene, while retaining their fanbase and popularity.
This was an issue on Overwatch because the game was still at an early stage of its growth, and many didn't want to invest money in a game this new and without a proven history in esports. Concerning CoD, fan response should also be taken into account, as they don't necessarily seem very inclined to see the model change, especially as Call of Duty has been doing relatively good since the CoD World League was established two years ago.
We'll have to wait and see how this develops, then, as this is still only Lewis' report thus far, and not a confirmed story. Would franchising be a good idea though?