In case you didn’t know, Activision is pushing the Call of Duty eSports initiative hard, and is now actively selling city franchises for a professional city-based Call of Duty eSports league (like your standard professional US sports team). In a press release, Activision has announced the first five Call of Duty eSports League city teams!

Partnering with existing Overwatch League team owners, here’s the first five cities along with background info on each team’s ownership group:

• Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Esports Ventures, a joint venture owned by Cox Enterprises and Province, Inc. dedicated to bringing esports entertainment to the city of Atlanta
• Dallas, TX – Envy Gaming Inc., a staple in esports since 2007 with teams competing this year in the Call of Duty World League (Envy) and Overwatch League (Dallas Fuel)
• New York, NY – Sterling.VC, an early stage sports and media company backed by Sterling Equities – a family-run group of companies owned by the Wilpon and Katz families with several business operations including the New York Mets
• Paris, France – c0ntact Gaming, LLC., is the parent company of both the Overwatch League team, Paris Eternal, and the Paris Call of Duty esports team
• Toronto, Canada – OverActive Media, an integrated company delivering esports and video game entertainment to the Canadian market

• About Atlanta Esports Ventures: Atlanta Esports Ventures (AEV) is a joint venture owned by Cox Enterprises and Province, Inc. dedicated to bringing the best of esports to the city of Atlanta. AEV houses the Atlanta-based Overwatch League franchise, the Atlanta Reign.
• About Cox Enterprises: Cox Enterprises is dedicated to building a better future through our leading communications, automotive services and media companies. Our major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications, Cox Automotive and Cox Media Group. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Cox is a global company with over $20 billion in annual revenues and brands that include Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book and Cox Homelife. Founded in 1898 by Ohio Governor James M. Cox, the company is a family-owned business committed to its people, communities and the planet. To learn more about Cox, visit coxenterprises.com.
• About Province, Inc.: Province, Inc. is a national financial advisory firm focusing on growth opportunities, restructuring, and fiduciary-related services. The firm is regularly hired to provide solutions in many of the largest and most complex cases in the country.

• About Envy Gaming: Envy Gaming, Inc. is the owner and operator of global esports franchise Team Envy and Overwatch League franchise the Dallas Fuel. Founded as a professional Call of Duty team in 2007, owner Mike Rufail has grown the Dallas-based organization into one of the largest and most-winning esports groups in the world. Today, Envy Gaming competes, streams and produces content across multiple titles including Overwatch, Call of Duty, CS:GO, PUBG, Paladins, Rocket League, Street Fighter V, FIFA and Fortnite. Envy was named the 2016 Esports Team of the Year. For more information, visit Envy.gg.

• About Sterling.VC: Sterling.VC is an early stage sports, media, and real estate technology fund backed by Sterling Equities – a family-run group of companies owned by the Wilpon and Katz families with a number of operating businesses including the New York Mets and Sportsnet New York (SNY). Sterling.VC leads the ownership group for New York Excelsior (NYXL), a founding franchise of Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League and the first professional esports team to represent the city of New York.

• About c0ntact Gaming, LLC.: c0ntact, a global leader in esports, is the parent company of both the Paris Eternal Overwatch League and Paris Call of Duty esports teams.

• About OverActive Media: OverActive Media (“OAM”) is an integrated global company delivering esports and video game entertainment. OAM combines team ownership with audience engagement to better connect with our fans, franchise partners and corporate sponsors around the world. OAM owns the Toronto Defiant of the Overwatch League, a League of Legends European Championship series franchise and recently fully acquired Splyce Inc., which is headquartered in Rochester, NY and operates regional teams in various other esports, including: Call of Duty, Rocket League, Smite and Starcraft II. OAM is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Which city do you want to see own a professional Call of Duty team? Do you think this will work? Let us know your thoughts below.