Press Release Details

Event Proceeds to Support Call of Duty Endowment's Mission to Place Veterans into High-Quality Jobs

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Gaming personalities TmarTn, GoldGloveTV, iiJeriichoii, Hutch, and VernNotice today announced they are reuniting for the Call of Duty Endowment's 2017 Race to Prestige, an around-the-clock, relay-style video game marathon sponsored by ASTRO Gaming. This year, the gamers will take on Call of Duty®: WWII, the highly-anticipated new release from Activision. The event will be streamed live from developer Sledgehammer Games' studio in the San Francisco area starting on November 2, 2017, at 10:00 am PT on Twitch - twitch.tv/therace. It also can be followed on Twitter through the hashtag #TheRace. It will run continuously through November 5, 2017, at 6:00 pm PT, with appearances from special guests, including cast members from the game. The premier partner of the Race to Prestige this year is ASTRO Gaming, makers of pro video gaming equipment. Scuf Gaming, creators of handcrafted professional controllers and high-end gaming accessories, are also supporting the event.

The Race to Prestige is gaming with a purpose, with the goal of raising money for the Call of Duty Endowment ("the Endowment"), which identifies and funds best-in-class veteran organizations that get unemployed veterans back to work. In the last year alone, organizations supported by the Endowment placed 11,615 veterans into jobs at an average cost-per-placement of $619—less than one fifth the cost of federal placement programs. Since the program's launch in 2009, the Endowment and its grantees have placed more than 40,000 veterans into full-time jobs.

The streamers have teamed up with stream-for-charity website Tiltify, which encourages audience members to donate as they watch. Every cent received by the Call of Duty Endowment will go directly to funding veteran employment programs. In the last two years alone, The Race to Prestige has raised $291,000 in donations, which has resulted in placing more than a battalion of veterans into high-quality employment. Additionally, Activision Blizzard has pledged to match up to $500,000 in donations.

The streamers behind #TheRace include:

• iiJeriichoii's content revolves around gaming comedy and skits. He is well known for his high-energy and fun-playing attitude. He has garnered more than 1,190,000 YouTube subscribers and 688,000 Twitter followers.
• TmarTn is known for his tips and tricks in Call of Duty®. He has worked with Activision to create Call of Duty® strategy guides and is arguably the #1 source for any Call of Duty® tips. This makes TmarTn a notable gaming resource to his 3,312,500 YouTube subscribers, 1,064,000 Twitter followers and 600,000 Instagram followers.
• GoldGloveTV offers content revolving around lets-plays and group multiplayer videos. He is well known for his down-to-earth, genuine personality and collaboration videos with other notable YouTubers. He boasts 1,350,000 YouTube subscribers, 430,000 Twitter followers, 1,257,000 Twitch followers and 175,000 Instagram followers.
• Hutch was one of the first gamers in the YouTube world. He quickly grew in popularity until he was hired as one of the faces of the Machinima Respawn channel. He paved the way for many current YouTubers, and is now a regular streamer on Twitch. He has 938,000 YouTube subscribers, 370,000 Twitter followers and 273,000 loyal Twitch followers.
• VernNotice has 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 on Twitch with over 210,000 followers and 79,000 Twitter followers.

"Every dollar we raise for the Call of Duty Endowment goes directly to placing veterans into quality jobs," said Dan Goldenberg, Executive Director of the Call of Duty Endowment. "We're grateful for the support from these awesome streamers, Activision, ASTRO Gaming, Scuf Gaming, and all who participate in the Race to Prestige."

Since its start in 2003, the Call of Duty® franchise continues to be among the most-highly anticipated game launches. Call of Duty®: WW II is developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. The game is set to be released for PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC on Friday, November 3, 2017.

About Activision Publishing:

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.

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.

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: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171102006149/en/

Activision Blizzard, Inc.
Joy Phillips
jphillips@rubenstein.com

Source: Activision Blizzard, Inc.

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