SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Call of Duty: Black Ops II is almost here. With little more than two weeks to go for one of the most anticipated entertainment launches in history, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), today kicks things into high gear with the release of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops II live-action trailer helmed by visionary director Guy Ritchie and featuring Robert Downey
Jr. The explosive :60 second high-octane piece, titled "Surprise," will be unveiled on network television in the U.S. tonight on Monday Night Football and will rollout worldwide across high-profile telecasts including elite European football matches.
Reflecting the global phenomenon that is Call of Duty®, a franchise which appeals to both mass and enthusiast audiences, several additional celebrity cameos round out the cast. Omar Sy, one of France's top comedic actors, and a huge Call of Duty fan in his own right, makes an appearance, and core gaming fans will recognize Internet phenoms FPSRussia as well as iJustine.
To support the launch blitz, Activision teamed up with Bad Robot Interactive to release a Call of Duty takeover to Bad Robot's mega-hit Action Movie FX app, which is a free download available now on iPhone and iPad. The app enables fans to film real world environments with their phones, only to bring mayhem to them using Call of Duty: Black Ops II near-future weaponry. Additionally, fans can use the scan function in the app, to unlock and unleash exclusive new weapons for use in the app from the upcoming game.
"With Call of Duty we are re-writing the rule-book of how games are marketed. This is more than a product launch, it's become a cultural event. And, what Treyarch has created this year with Call of Duty: Black Ops II is nothing short of the most innovative Call of Duty title yet," said Tim Ellis, CMO, Activision Publishing. "So our mission is to meet this creativity with the most dynamic and far-reaching launch campaign we've ever done. Everything we do is geared toward reaching our fans — the best community in the world — to celebrate with them the launch this November 13th."
This year, more than 15,000 retail outlets worldwide are scheduled to open their doors at midnight on Tuesday, November 13. Additionally, Activision will support the game through a global outdoor advertising campaign that will run in eight cities and across more than 450 media placements around the world with support from the media agencies OMD and MEC, respectively.
Promotional partners in North America include Xbox 360 and LG, as well as retail partners Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Wal-Mart. Throughout the campaign, Activision has worked with LA / Amsterdam based agency 72andSunny on overall creative direction and The Ant Farm on a series of heart-pounding gameplay trailers that have been viewed in the millions.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches worldwide on November 13, 2012, on the Xbox® 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC. The title is also expected to be released in North America on November18, 2012, for the new Wii U™ game system from Nintendo. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is rated "M" (Mature — Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs — content suitable for persons ages 18 and older) by the ESRB. More information on Call of Duty: Black Ops II can be found at
http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2 or on www.facebook.com/codblackops. Fans can also follow @Treyarch on Twitter.
About Treyarch
Treyarch is an industry-leading game developer, wholly owned by Activision Publishing, Inc. whose previous game Call of Duty: Black Ops set an entertainment launch opening record upon its release in 2010 and continues to be one of the best-selling games of all time, according to NPD and GfK Chart-Track.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, mainland China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the
company's website, www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the expected release date of November 13, 2012, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report
on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are
subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
Microsoft, Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Wii U is a trademark of Nintendo.
SOURCE Activision Publishing, Inc.