Despite the health crisis, fans still gathered in Indianapolis for a chance to compete in a Modern Warfare tournament. The tournament was supposed to start on August 1, but at last minute the AGN revealed that the event would be moved to an online format. Although several fans accepted this change, others had different plans.

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After the event was moved to an online event, several players took it upon themselves to throw a personal LAN event. One of the competing teams invited other players to come to their Airbnb home, where they allegedly went through with the event as planned. Video footage of the players competing in a home environment swept the web, along with claims that AGN staff members were present. Many found that running a Call of Duty tournament amid coronavirus concerns is irresponsible, even at a small scale.

Later the tournament organizer denied involvement in the event, stating that it does not condone players being there and that “AGN has nothing to do with the players congregated at ANY LAN center.” However, several coaches and team managers reported differently.

Coach Joey ‘Nubzy’ DiGiacomo from Seattle Surge tweeted “pretty sure the online thing was fake and I believe they’re holding the LAN as we speak.” This statement was reaffirmed by Toronto Ultra’s General Manager claiming that she had already reported it to Activision and Blizzard. Popular belief quickly spread that the event organizer used its non-involvement statement as a smokescreen and instead went through with the event.

Claims came to a head when a video of a match being played was posted alongside the results of the game. After the video was deleted several times, users took it upon themselves to reupload the video of the Call of Duty tournament. AGN founder Gage Cash was quick to respond with a simple “No sir, we are hosting an online event.”

Criticism of the competitors has appeared on the Call of Duty Competitive subreddit. With no major names at the amateur competition, the risk of playing LAN seemed unnecessary. Even the charity Warzone tournament with the US Marine core was moved to an online setting. There is no official statement as to when Call of Duty will return to a LAN setting, but as long as players and events are ignoring COVID-19 restrictions the wait will continue to grow.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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