Call Of Duty Unveils Dec. 11 CODE Bowl, With U.S., UK Military Competing, Raising Money For Veteran Employment

Call of Duty will hold its second annual CODE Bowl on Dec. 11, with service members from all five armed forces branches of the U.S. military and three UK military branches competing in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War alongside CoD streamers, players and influencers to raise money for veteran employment and job placement.

The charity esports event presented by USAA along with Ram trucks and Scuf controllers, will take place from 1-5 p.m. eastern live on Call of Duty’s YouTube and Twitch channels.

Each team will be also be coached by a professional Call of Duty League player, who will give tips and strategic recommendations before each match, and feature influencers.  The U.S. Air Force team will include LEGIQN and Dougisraw; the U.S. Army team will feature Nickmercs and Swagg from FaZe Clan; the U.S. Marine Corps squad includes Courage from 100 Thieves and Pamaj from FaZe; the U.S. Navy teams up with TeeP and Aydan; the U.S. Space Force team includes Symfuhny and NRG’s Huskerrs; the British Army team includes Vikkstar and Tommey; the Royal Navy squad features C9Emz and AshleighSR; and the Royal Air Force team includes Spratt and Jaffainc. These teams are subject to change prior to the event.

The goal for the competition is to not only watch some great gaming and esports but to also raise awareness and money for the Call of Duty Endowment, a charitable organization that places thousands of veterans a year in high quality, well-paying, lasting, full-time jobs thanks to a partnership with Deloitte and various non-profit groups across the U.S. and UK.

“We’ve been able to put more than $44 million toward veteran employment in the last decade,” said Dan Goldenberg, CODE’s executive director. “And every cent of that goes not towards our overhead, but to put vets in jobs. That in total has resulted in more than 77,000 placements.”

Last year’s edition of the CODE Bowl, where only gamers from the U.S. Army’s esports competed with Call of Duty influencers, had 1.3 million unique viewers tune in, according to company figures. But this year they’re really amping up the format in order to raise awareness and get veterans placed at jobs during a time of great need across the country amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Goldenberg said that CODE has seen a 30% increase in the numbers of veterans asking for help this year, so the Endowment’s expenditure on grants has increased by a third as well.

The Endowment raises money through a combination of revenue from in-game CoD purchases, this event and other corporate partnerships. So far more than 11,000 vets have been placed in jobs in 2020, a record for the organization.

“We’re very, very fortunate that we’ve been able to step up, because a lot of traditional funders of nonprofits have not been able to because of the market and other issues in the economy,” Goldenberg, himself a U.S. Navy vet, said.

The Endowment’s cost to place a veteran at a job in 2019 was $499, providing employment at 1/6 the cost of US  Department of Labor efforts, according to CODE. Which means proceeds from this event, which Goldenberg expects to exceed last year’s $472,000 total, could bring jobs to thousands of vets.

“CODE Bowl is a premiere gaming event made even more impactful by the work of the Endowment to help place veterans into careers following their military service,” said Tony Wells, USAA’s chief brand officer, who was an infantry officer in the US Marines. “USAA is proud to support CODE Bowl and expand our involvement in esports as a way to celebrate military members and veterans and help them connect with each other through games they love.”

The CODE Bowl also comes the day before this year’s Army-Navy college football game, further adding to military atmosphere surrounding that weekend. In compliance with federal rules, all participating U.S. military eSports teams will not be endorsing or participating in any fundraising activities associated with any organization, including the Call of Duty Endowment, the company said in a release.

“We’re hoping it’ll be even bigger this year, given the participants,” Goldenberg said. “A lot more nostalgia, a lot more interest coming in with so many different teams from both sides of the pond, not to mention some pretty big content creators. We think it’s gonna be a pretty enormous event.”