Even for the USA “too cruel”

Call of Duty is intended for adults, but a tournament seems too cruel even for them. The organizer intervenes, to the annoyance of the fans.

New York, USA – The shooter Call of Duty is also a big hit in e-sports. There’s a controversy about cruelty and skulls at this year’s championship, but it’s not about the game itself. The trophy, which the best team takes home, is too cruel for promoter Activision.

Top ‘Call of Duty’ pros officially denied their trophy: ‘too cruel’

It’s about this tournament: Call of Duty has its own professional league: the CDL. There, the best players compete against each other, as you know it from e-sports titles such as LoL or, for example, the Champions League from real football. The CDL Major 4 is currently taking place from July 14th to 17th, 2022.

The world champions forged in the CDL can look forward to high prize money and fame. Viewers pay up to over $300 for a seat at the live event in New York. But what the viewers won’t see is the trophy that the winning team will receive – which is probably too cruel for organizer Activision.

This is the “cruel reward”: The host of the CDL Majos traditionally chooses its own trophy – as Activision does not provide one. So the current host, the New York Subliners, choose a true icon of their hometown: the Statue of Liberty. But so that the cup doesn’t look like a run-of-the-mill tourist souvenir, there is a small change: Lady Liberty’s head is split and reveals a skull – see for yourself here:

First-person shooter from 18 years bans reward for e-sports: too brutal for America?

This is why the trophy was banned: The slightly different Statue of Liberty was unveiled just one day before the start of the tournament, on July 13th. Fans celebrated the cool design, after all, the prestige ranks in CoD always have such skulls as an emblem. But only a short time later, Matt Lucero, Creative Director of the hosts, got in touch and had to announce that Activision had blocked the trophy without further ado.

Lucero shared with disappointment: “The league rejected our trophy, they said it was too cruel.” (via Twitter).

Too brutal or anti-USA? It is interesting that Call of Duty in Germany has a release from the age of 18, i.e. for adults. CDL tournament attendees must also be at least 17+. While the pros are playing the first person shooter, you see gun violence, shots in the head and dead soldiers every few seconds.

One might think that the trophy was rejected rather because it degrades the emblem of the United States. The cited cruelty would not be the skull itself, but in combination with the Statue of Liberty, which stands for the proverbial “American Way of Life” – and Activision probably doesn’t want to bury it.

There is a victory after all: Inside sources report that the controversial trophy is supposed to be part of the tournament after all. The award ceremony for the winners of the CDL may not be shown in front of running cameras, reports the US site Dexerto. The outraged publisher Activision has not yet commented on the matter (as of July 15, 2022, 9:00 a.m.).

A few days ago, another e-sports tournament made headlines, but well-meaning ones. Because a professional in Apex spared his opponent despite 2 million prize money and became a digital man of honor.