The London Royal Ravens Call of Duty League team, the only European franchise in the system, is reportedly eyeing a new home in 2024, with Charlotte, North Carolina being the leading destination.
Four years on from the CDL being established, it appears another franchise is set to not only rebrand, but relocate in the upcoming season. Despite being the only remaining European team in the league, and one of only two currently representing a region outside of the US, London Royal Ravens could be no more come 2024.
The UK-based franchise is reportedly set to move away from the market, potentially moving to Charlotte, North Carolina for next year’s season, according to Sports Business Journal’s Kevin Hitt.
While Charlotte is claimed to be the leading candidate at this stage, the report also highlights Mexico City and Washington D.C. as possible options should the initial plan fall through.
Having been part of the CDL from the very beginning, the Royal Ravens kicked things off in 2020 with a full UK-based squad including CoD’s notable brotherly duo of wuskin and Skrapz.
In the years that have followed, the London franchise has struggled to push into the upper echelons of competition, with its best result, a fourth-place finish in the 2020 playoffs, being the main high point.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Most recently, the team finished dead last for the 2023 regular season, only netting $10,000 in prize money for the entire year, and failing to qualify for the end-of-year Champs event.
Previously owned and operated by ReKTGlobal, the organization was recently acquired by Infinite Reality, a company dedicated to “world-class Metaverse experiences.” It’s unclear if the idea to relocate was in motion before this acquisition, or if this is a new objective being pushed by the latest owners.
This report also comes six days removed from Ravens dropping its two Call of Duty content creators, Jukeyz and Angelika.
We’ll be sure to keep you posted here as any further details emerge surrounding London Royal Raven’s future in the CDL.