Gamescom 2012 passed by this weekend and one of the largest showings at the event was none other than Treyarch and their upcoming shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. A lot of new things were announced that not only benefits current CoD players, but also those attuned to eSports and even gamers who have stopped playing Call of Duty all together. Incase you missed all the action, I have broken down what was announced and explained everything so you can be prepared for Black Ops 2’s global launch on November, 13^th, 2012!

League Play Announced

By far, one of the most exciting features announced for Black Ops 2, especially for the casual player, is a little something called “League Play.” The name is different but if you’re familiar with Halo 3, it’s pretty much ranked matchmaking. Arguably one of the greatest ideas in all of gaming, at least in competitive ones, I don’t understand why it vanished off the face of popular shooting games.

What this system of matchmaking basically does is pair you with players of equal skill level. You’d think a system like this would be common but well, it isn’t. At least now, the casual CoD gamer can come home from a hard day of school or work and not get stomped in the face by players with above average skills. Sorry pub-stompers, looks like you’ll be put into lobbies with other pub-stompers now!

CoD-Casting Announced

With Treyarch’s eSports advisor and pro-gamer, Mike “Hastr0” Rufail, at the helm, we got to taste the first ever live Call of Duty multiplayer match featured on CoD-cast. What this nifty little feature does is turn any match into one you’d normally see in top tier tournaments complete with over head radar, player spectator, team listen-ins, and even a commentator.

CoD-Cast was designed through Treyarch’s eSports Agenda Initiative, which will bring the professional competitive arena into everyone’s homes. I’m not entirely sure how this is set-up, but I’m going to assume you can search for players and jump in and out of their match as either the “caster” or “spectator.” Players currently in the match can’t hear what you say, but you can hear what they say should you choose to do the “listen-in” feature in order to allow your spectators to hear what’s going on.

It’s also been confirmed there is some sort of subscriber system in CoD-Cast where you can follow your favorite players to watch or favorite commentators.

Livestreams Announced

This is something I’ve wanted in my games in-general for the longest time. Sometimes, I honestly don’t feel like playing so why not watch my friends play while I eat or whatever? The live stream feature in Call of Duty is brilliant and synergizes well with CoD-Cast. It’s pretty much spectator mode, where you can watch other players, perhaps your friends or even pro gamers, play the game. Of course, there’s a 15 second delay in the stream to prevent cheating.

Streaming can ether be turned on or off and I’m sure it uses bandwidth to broadcast. Even though you still might need a good connection to support a decent broadcast, Treyarch has provided you aspiring stream stars hundreds of dollars worth of “equipment” in order to showcase your gameplay or commentating skills.

This right here is one step for CoD players and a huge leap for eSports enthusiasts. I’ve always said that the most successful eSports titles will have some sort of built-in streaming or spectator mode added. Not everyone knows what pro gaming is all about and now that you can click a button and watch some of top players in the world in an instant, Call of Duty eSports is going to get bigger. Perhaps other titles will follow in Treyarch’s foot steps too!

Multi-team game modes

It was confirmed in their reveal trailer that there would be some sort of multi-team multiplayer game modes. Apparently, it’s very open in that the maximum number of players is eighteen and you can have any combination of teams and players up to that. It would also appear the mode is very easy to switch around. Six teams of three on Sabotage anyone? How about nine teams of two on Capture the Flag? Alright, some of that is absurd, but it sure does add a new twist to multiplayer.

Well there you have it folks. Call of Duty Gamescom 2012 goodness in a nutshell. Do some of these new features excite you? They sure as hell excite me! Though, if you have time, you really should check out what went on at Gamescom for yourself. I’m an eSports advocate so I advise you tune in to watch the Black Ops 2 all-pro tournament.

[Video via CALLOFDUTY]