Call of Duty Endowment kicks off CODE Bowl in Warzone 2

The Call of Duty donation today announced that the third annual CODE Bowl will take place on December 16 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

This year, the CODE Bowl takes place in Call of Duty: Warzone 2, the free-to-play battle royale that launched on November 16 and quickly grew to 25 million players. And this year’s trophy is actually in space, because the endowment, using Activision’s own funding, hired a company to send the trophy into space.

The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit organization that has helped more than 110,000 veterans find quality employment. Fans can watch US and UK military esports teams go head-to-head alongside top Call of Duty streamers in the recently launched Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0.

The winning military branch gets bragging rights and the coveted CODE Bowl Trophy. All net proceeds from the tournament go towards placing veterans in high-quality careers.

The CODE Bowl is the Endowment’s premier charity event to raise awareness and money for veterans’ work. All six US military branches and the three UK military branches will compete with members of their own esports teams.

Last CODE Bowl, the US Space Force esports team dominated their competition and took home the CODE Bowl II trophy. This year, in defense of their trophy, the Space Force is challenging all other military branches to “come and get it” as their trophy has been launched into space.

“This year’s CODE Bowl will take Raleigh by storm with a thrilling Warzone 2.0 battle to see if anyone can pry off Space Force’s trophy,” Dan Goldenberg, executive director of the Call of Duty Endowment, said in a statement. “The event will be incredibly fun to watch, but we will never lose sight of our important mission of placing the 61% of veterans who identify as unemployed or underemployed into meaningful careers.”

Kicking off December 16 at 9:00 AM Pacific, the CODE Bowl features nine military teams, each divided into two squads, paired with a popular Call of Duty streamer, all competing in Warzone 2 in a tournament-style mini-royal match.

The action will be broadcast live on Call of Duty’s YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels. USAA, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary of serving the military community, will provide exclusive content, viewership rewards and on-site experiences for attendees.

Participating Army teams include players from the United States Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, and Space Force, and British players from the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force.

“As a company founded by the military for the military, including nearly one in five employees who are veterans or military spouses, USAA understands how incredibly important and rewarding it is for our military veterans to find valuable employment after their service” Jen Escobar, senior brand marketing officer at USAA, said in a statement. “We are proud to support the CODE Bowl by bringing military and veterans together with a game they love, and more importantly, helping those who wear the uniform find their next career after service and sacrifice for our country.”

Hire Heroes USA, one of the Endowment’s beneficiary partners, will hold a recruiting event at the Raleigh Convention Center the morning prior to the event.

The cost of the endowment to place a veteran in 2021 was $547, providing employment at one-tenth the cost of the U.S. Department of Labor effort.

In accordance with federal rules, all participating US military esports teams will not support or participate in fundraising activities associated with any organization, including the Call of Duty Endowment.