Activision has announced the details for its second annual charity esports event for the military, which features active service members playing through a Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War tournament together. The initiative is intended to raise money to support ongoing efforts by the Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) to find employment opportunities for veterans. The C.O.D.E Bowl will take place on December 11 at 1o AM Pacific. The competition is undergoing some significant changes compared to last year's edition. This year, all five branches of the United States military are participating as the event continues to expand. Each military branch will participate through an esports squad, with a total of eight teams competing. The tournament is being sponsored by the USAA.
The tournament will take place remotely and features the introduction of three new teams that did not feature in last year's version. These teams are the US Marine Corps, US Air Force and US Space Force. The teams will also consist of British military personnel from the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force. Popular Call of Duty streamers will also make an appearance, including Courage, LEGIQN, Huskerrs, and more. It wasn't completely smooth sailing when Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War initially released last month. Players reported problems with the functionality of the game early on, especially on the brand-new Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. Multiple PS5 players complained that the game forced their controllers to disconnect during key moments in gameplay. Additionally, similar issues were reported on Microsoft's latest console. Several Xbox Series X owners noticed that the latest addition to the Call of Duty franchise caused their consoles to crash.
According to BusinessWire, this year's C.O.D.E. Bowl is the first Trans-Atlantic military esports competition. Each esports team will represent a different military branch from each country, with top streamers captaining the groups. All of the action will be streamed live on major streaming services Twitch and YouTube through the official Call of Duty channels. Scuf Controllers and Ram Trucks are official partners of the event, with Ram Trucks agreeing to give away an all-new 2021 Ram 1500 Built to Serve Special Edition Truck to a veteran who has recently started a new job through the Endowment's assistance.
The Call of Duty Endowment was established in 2009 to help support veterans by placing them in jobs. Since then, the charity has helped over 70,000 veterans find employment and is projected to help nearly 100,000 in four years' time. Not only does the Endowment seek to help veterans with the job-finding process, but Activision says the organization also does this at a reduced cost compared to the US government. The connection between video games and the US military is strong. It is very common for various military branches to host gaming tournaments that feature current service members and veterans. The US military was also part of a recruitment controversy over the summer in which esports teams were created to reach out to potential recruits on games including Call of Duty.
With so much stress surrounding this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this Trans-Atlantic esports tournament should be a welcome distraction to veterans and other military members who may be without their families for the upcoming holidays. It is also for a noteworthy cause. Veterans often struggle to reintegrate back into society when they return from their deployment. Finding a steady job is an essential part of that process.
Source: BusinessWire