SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced an expansion of its in-game program that supports the Call of Duty Endowment’s nationwide effort to help veterans find high-quality careers. Available through Call of Duty®: Black Ops III, the Call of Duty™ Endowment (C.O.D.E.) Valor Calling Card Set is a pack of three exclusive, animated calling cards each depicting epic scenes from military action across the sea, air and land, honoring those who have served in the armed forces. Designed by Treyarch, the C.O.D.E. Valor Calling Card Set is on sale for a suggested retail price of $3.99 and all gross proceeds received by Activision will be donated to the Endowment, which will use all funds to help veterans secure quality careers after their military service.
The Endowment is a non-profit, public benefit corporation founded in 2009 by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. With a mission to identify and fund the best and most effective employment-focused veteran-serving organizations, the Endowment has funded nearly 23,000 job placements to date, at an average cost-per-placement of less than $600 and with a six-month retention rate of 89 percent.
“To date, the Call of Duty community has contributed over $1 million to our efforts to help veterans through the in-game program,” said the Endowment’s Executive Director Dan Goldenberg. “With this funding, our grantees will place over 1,800 veterans into high quality jobs. Through this campaign alone, the Call of Duty community has essentially put an entire brigade back to work, which is tremendous.”
Goldenberg added, “Sony and Microsoft have been indispensable partners in this effort, as the in-game program would not be possible without their generosity. We are grateful for their continued support.”
“Treyarch strongly supports the Call of Duty Endowment’s mission,” said Treyarch Studio Head, Mark Lamia. “The Calling Card program allows the Call of Duty: Black Ops III community the opportunity to easily contribute and make a meaningful impact to this worthy cause.”
About Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., a member of the S&P 500, is the world's most successful standalone interactive entertainment company. We delight over 500 million monthly active users around the world through franchises including Activision's Call of Duty®, Destiny and Skylanders®, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft®, StarCraft®, Diablo® and Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™, and King's Candy Crush®, Pet Rescue® and Farm Heroes®. The company is one of the Fortune "100 Best Companies To Work For®." Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard has operations throughout the world, and its games are played in 196 countries. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activisionblizzard.com.
About the Call of Duty Endowment
The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit, public benefit corporation co-founded by Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. The Endowment helps veterans find high quality careers by supporting groups that prepare them for the job market and by raising awareness of the value vets bring to the workplace. For more information about the Call of Duty Endowment, please visit www.callofdutyendowment.org.
ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS, and stylized roman numeral III are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
