Popular Gamer Personalities Come Together to Stream
Call
of Duty®: Black Ops 4
Donations from the Challenge go toward the
Call
of Duty™ Endowment’s Work Combating Veteran Unemployment
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2018--
The Call of Duty™ Endowment’s 2018 “#CODNATION Challenge”
(previously known as The Race To Prestige), which welcomes gaming
personalities Jericho, GoldGlove, Hutch, and VernNotice, for the annual
round-the-clock, multi-day streaming fundraiser to help vets, is now
live. This year’s event will be bigger and better than ever as the
official launch stream of Activision’s Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4,
the highly-anticipated new release developed by Treyarch, launching
tomorrow. The event is now streaming on Twitch.tv/TheRace
live from Treyarch’s studio in Santa Monica, CA, and will continue
through Saturday, October 13, at 2 PM PDT. The event is sponsored by GameStop,
Lovesac,
Scuf
Gaming, ASTRO
Gaming, and KontrolFreek.
Viewers can also follow the stream on Twitter via #CODNATIONChallenge
and #TheRace. An updated schedule of the stream can be found on the Call
of Duty Endowment’s Twitter account at twitter.com/CODE4Vets.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181011005732/en/
#CODNATION Challenge (Photo: Business Wire)
“The #CODNATION Challenge is an incredible and unique way for the gaming
community to come together each year, have fun, and support our veterans
in their transition back to civilian life,” said Dan Goldenberg,
Executive Director of the Call of Duty Endowment (“the Endowment”). “The
support of Activision, Treyarch, GameStop, ELEAGUE, Lovesac, ASTRO
Gaming, Scuf Gaming, KontrolFreek, and our streaming hosts are vital to
this event, and we are truly grateful for their tireless efforts.”
Throughout the #CODNATION Challenge, special guests, including
developers, influencers, and pro gamers will join the hosts as they play
new modes, explore tips and tricks, and share behind-the-scenes
exclusives—all for a great cause. The premier partner of the 2018
#CODNATION Challenge is GameStop, the world’s largest video game
retailer. Lovesac, an American furniture retailer specializing in
high-quality beanbags, ASTRO Gaming, makers of pro video gaming
equipment, Scuf Gaming, creators of pro controllers and high-end gaming
accessories, and KontrolFreek, developer of innovative gaming
accessories, are also supporting the event.
ELEAGUE, the premium esports content and live tournament brand from
Turner and IMG, will also be supporting the Endowment with the broadcast
of their own action-packed exhibition, the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
x ELEAGUE #CODNATION Challenge for Vets. The #CODNATION Challenge
will handoff to ELEAGUE’s exhibition, being held at ELEAGUE Arena in
Atlanta, Saturday, Oct. 13, beginning at 5 PM EDT, with live coverage
presented on Twitch.
The event will feature 12 popular influencers from the Call of Duty
community, and fans will be able to contribute to the Endowment directly
via the Twitch stream.
The #CODNATION Challenge is gaming with a purpose. This year, the
streamers have set a minimum goal of raising $100,000 to support the
Endowment, a nonprofit that identifies and funds best-in-class veteran
organizations helping unemployed veterans get back to work. Since the
program’s launch in 2009, the Endowment and its grantees have placed
more than 47,000 veterans into high quality jobs, and at an average 2018
cost-per-placement of $505—less than 1/6 the cost per placement of U.S.
Department of Labor programs.
The streamers have teamed up with stream-for-charity platform Tiltify,
which enables audience members to donate as they watch. Every cent
received by the Endowment will go directly to funding veteran employment
programs. Last year’s stream raised over $125,000 in donations (and
$250,000 in total with a match from Activision Blizzard), which has
resulted in placing more than the equivalent of a battalion of veterans
into high-quality employment. Activision Blizzard has again pledged to
match up to $500,000 in donations made during the Challenge. 100% of the
proceeds raised for the Endowment go directly toward the cause, as all
operational costs of the organization are funded by Activision.
The influencers hosting #CODNATION Challenge are:
- Jericho’s
content revolves around gaming comedy and skits. He is well known for
his high-energy and fun-playing attitude across YouTube and Twitch.
- GoldGloveTV
offers content revolving around let’s-plays and group multiplayer
videos. He is well known for his down-to-earth, genuine personality
and collaboration videos with other notable content creators.
- Hutch
was one of the first gamers in the YouTube world. He paved the way for
many current YouTuber creators, and is now a regular streamer on
Twitch.
- VernNoticehas been active in the gaming community since 2009. He’s a
full-time variety streamer and has made a name for himself as one of
the funniest personalities on Twitch and Twitter.
Since its inception in 2003, the Call of Duty® franchise
continues to be among the most-highly anticipated game launches. Call
of Duty: Black Ops 4 is developed by Treyarch and published by
Activision. The game releases tomorrow for PlayStation®4 computer
entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment
system from Microsoft, and PC.
About Activision:
Headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., Activision is a leading global
producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision
maintains operations throughout the world and is a division
of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company. More
information about Activision and its products can be found on the
company's website www.activision.com or
by following @Activision.
About the Call of Duty Endowment:
The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit foundation 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.
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 Call of Duty: Black Ops
4, 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 10K 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 and CALL OF DUTY are trademarks of Activision Publishing,
Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their
respective owners.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181011005732/en/
Source: Activision Blizzard, Inc.
For Activision
Mirian Arias, 212-843-8094
marias@rubenstein.com
or
Jeremy
Soule, 424-744-5830
jeremy.soule@activision.com