Will Call of Duty: Warzone have an esports scene in the future?

In terms of current popularity, Call of Duty: Warzone might be at the top of the battle royale food chain. Not only is the game blowing up on Twitch, but it's building a community around it that should last for years to come. While some still associate it with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the game has been confirmed to be living on past the next title in the franchise.

With Warzone being its own title and updated the same as any other battle royale on the market, the question of esports has to come into play. Though Activision might not be thinking that far ahead, it's worth exploring given how popular Warzone has become with players and viewers alike.

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Is Call of Duty: Warzone becoming an esport?

Whenever a new battle royale is released, esports are immediately brought into question. There haven't been many BRs in the past few years to not develop an esports scene. Fortnite, Apex Legends, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds are just naming a few examples.

However, Warzone is a bit different from those titles. The game is still being paired with Modern Warfare in terms of updates, content, etc. Most other battle royales don't have another game straddled with it, which is why esports scenes were so quick to develop.

Image via Activision

Even with all of that though, Warzone still has the capability to make a successful esport. There's even a prominent tournament scene developing for the title. Activision has sponsored events like the MFAM Gauntlet, hosted by streamer Nick "Nickmercs" Kolcheff, that plays out similarly to a Fortnite tournament. Of course, if an esport were to develop, private matches would need to be instituted.

Luckily, it seems that private lobbies are on the way soon. According to Call of Duty leak account @ModernWarzone, this is a feature that's coming in the near future.

🚨 Private matches will be available in #Warzone SOON 🚨#CallOfDuty #ModernWarfare #BlackOps #BlackOpsColdWar #LiveFromWarzone pic.twitter.com/QUdawUXfcx

— ModernWarzone (@ModernWarzone) August 9, 2020

While this is unconfirmed, it does make sense for Activision to implement this feature. Other battle royales title have something similar so the developers would want to compete by having their own private matches in Warzone.

Call of Duty: Warzone could make for a fantastic esport but only if the correct steps are taken. Hopefully, in the coming months, Activision can mold Warzone into an esport-ready title and make the already-popular title even more well-liked.