SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Call of Duty Endowment today announced the third annual C.O.D.E. Bowl, presented by USAA, will take place on December 16 in Raleigh, North Carolina. This year, the C.O.D.E. Bowl will be bigger and better than ever, celebrating that the Endowment has helped place more than 110,000 veterans into high-quality employment.
Fans will be able to watch US and U.K. military esports teams battle it out alongside top Call of Duty® streamers in the newly launched Call of Duty®: Warzone™ 2.0. The winning military branch will receive bragging rights and the coveted C.O.D.E. Bowl Trophy. One hundred percent of the net proceeds from the tournament will go toward placing veterans into high-quality careers.
The C.O.D.E. Bowl is the Endowment’s cornerstone charity event to raise awareness and funds for veteran employment. All six US military branches and the three UK military branches are participating with members from their own esports teams, with the defending champions of the US Space Force looking to defend their trophy and challenging all branches to “come & get it” from space.
Video of Space Force trophy sent into space: https://youtu.be/47Fh1sza-Ec
“This year, the C.O.D.E. Bowl will take Raleigh by storm with a thrilling Warzone 2.0 battle to see if anyone can pry the trophy away from Space Force,” said Dan Goldenberg, Executive Director of the Call of Duty Endowment. “The event will be incredibly fun to watch, but we never lose sight of our important mission of placing the 61% of veterans who identify as being either unemployed or underemployed into meaningful careers.”
The C.O.D.E. Bowl kicks off at 9:00 a.m. Pacific, December 16, and will feature nine military teams each divided into two squads, paired with a popular Call of Duty streamer, all competing in the newly-released Call of Duty®: Warzone 2.0 in a tournament-style, mini-royale competition. The action will be broadcast live on the Call of Duty YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook channels. USAA, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary of serving the military community, will provide exclusive content, viewer rewards, and on-site experiences for attendees.
“As a company founded by the military for the military, including nearly one in five employees who are veterans or military spouses, USAA understands how incredibly important and rewarding it is for our military veterans to find valuable employment post-service,” said Jen Escobar, Senior Brand Marketing Officer, USAA. “We are proud to support the C.O.D.E. Bowl by helping to bring together military and veterans with a game they love, and more importantly, helping those who wear the uniform find their next career following their service and sacrifice to our country.”
Participating teams from the military include players from the United States Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard and Space Force, and UK players from the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Streamers joining these teams include CouRage, Espresso, IceManIsaac, M3rkd by a SKIRT, C9Emz, Spratt, BennyCentral, and more to be announced soon.
Paired with the event in Raleigh, Hire Heroes USA, one of the Endowment’s grantees, will be holding a hiring event on-site at the Raleigh Convention Center the morning leading up to the event.
The Call of Duty Endowment has funded the placement of more than 110,000 vets into high quality employment since its inception. The Endowment’s 2021 cost to place a veteran was $547, providing employment at 1/10 the cost of US Department of Labor efforts.
To help get veterans back to work, please visit: www.callofdutyendowment.org/help. In compliance with federal rules, all participating US military esports teams will not be endorsing or participating in any fundraising activities associated with any organization, including the Call of Duty Endowment.
About the Call of Duty Endowment
The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit organization co-founded by Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard. The Endowment seeks to help veterans find high-quality careers by supporting groups that prepare them for the job market and by raising awareness of the extraordinary value veterans 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 WARZONE, and WARZONE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
