A number of Call of Duty professionals, including Dashy, JKap and SlasheR, have trolled Modern Warfare following media training at the Call of Duty League player summit.
Competitive Call of Duty’s transition into a franchise-based league means pros will be held to different standards as they represent their new teams and league.
The ongoing Call of Duty League ‘Player Summit’ has been marked on Twitter with regular images and information on players of all teams. However, it appears a number of pros are unhappy with the rules pertaining to game criticism, something they appeared to mock on December 13.
The rules surrounding game criticism have been ambiguous thus far, with pros generally allowed to express their frustrations with the game.
However, while unconfirmed, it appears that the rules for players will be much stricter going into the CDL’s inaugural season.
Dillon ‘Attach’ Price, former World Champion and pro player for New York Subliners, joked that there were things he could no longer do or say, following his social media training from the CDL.
I just went to COD League social media training so I cannot reply to this but…
— Attach (@Attach) December 14, 2019
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However, a number of pros began to troll Modern Warfare, simultaneously tweeting: “I love Modern Warfare”, followed by a thumbs-up emoji.
Players from all teams took part in the trolling, seemingly to mock the new, austere social media rules.
While unconfirmed, it seems that players will not be able to criticize Modern Warfare as freely as they have past CoD titles. Some fans have even suggested that doing so would result in a fine from Activision – again unconfirmed. The Call of Duty publishers are heavily involved with the organization and funding of the Call of Duty League.
Many pros have complained in the past at the lack of consultation and collaboration made by development studios, arguing that they have the knowledge to improve Call of Duty games.
There have also been incidents in other esports, regarding pros being punished harshly for criticism of developers or the game. Back in November, FIFA pro Kurt0411 was banned from EA’s soccer simulation after spitting on the developer’s logo during a furious rant.
The exact contents of the meetings between professional players and league organizers remains private, so it’s unknown what exactly prompted the wave of sarcasm across social media.