How ‘Call of Duty' Says It Is Getting More Veterans Jobs Than the U.S. Government
Tied to Activision's long-running military game franchise 'Call of Duty,' the aptly named Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) has placed over 150,000 veterans in jobs since 2009 and has been surpassing the federal government's placement efforts since 2022, according to the organization's president, Dan Goldenberg.
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The initiative has raised $48 million through sales of special accessory packs in 'Call of Duty' games alone (one of which recently launched in collaboration with real-life vets First Sergeant Korey Staley and Captain Florent 'Flo' Groberg), in addition to other donation streams, and 'every cent of which is going to putting vets in jobs,' Goldenberg says.
'The 'Call of Duty' community has been generous. Activision, as partners, have been incredible. They've all kind of come together in this ecosystem,' Goldenberg told Variety. 'And one thing I know for sure is we've had more measurable social impact than anyone I know of in the gaming industry. I can't think of another cause where it's not so much the money raised, it's the impact out. Others may have raised more money, but we've put — including the in-game stuff and other donations and corporate partnerships — close to $100 million against this problem. And as a result, 150,000 vets have jobs, their families are more secure. Meaningful employment is just so core to so many other challenges a vet may encounter. If you have a meaningful job, you probably have health care, you have colleagues, you have purpose.'
According to C.O.D.E., it costs $628 per placement of each vet. The average starting salary for vets in these placements is $75,000, and 93% are receiving full-time placement. Goldenberg says the program has seen an 89% retention rate at six months. Additionally, 20% of the program's veterans placed are women.
Launched in 2009 by former Activision chief Bobby Kotick and co-chaired by General James L. Jones beginning in 2012, the Call of Duty Endowment started out a time when the unemployment rate for veterans 'was super high,' Goldenberg said.
'It stemmed from this very successful gaming franchise that said, 'We've gotten really big, and we owe a lot of our success to the people who inspired us. We'd like to find a good way to give back to them,'' Goldenberg said, adding that 'initially, we looked like a lot of corporate foundations writing big checks. But the difference was the discipline that had made Activision and 'Call of Duty' so successful was being applied to trying to solve a social problem here.'
C.O.D.E. is currently bracing for a higher number of unemployed veterans amid the recent job cuts across government service, a popular sector for vet placement, under the administration of President Donald Trump. But Goldenberg says the techniques the endowment already has in place — methods it has been building on through years of trial and error — will help significantly with this influx.
'A lot of it was vetting our partners, and we insisted on a return on our investment,' Goldenberg said. 'The difference was, it was a social return. We wanted to see a lot of vets put in jobs. And when we started, we were at parity. Our cost per placement was about the same as the federal government's efforts.'
And with 'consistent disciplined vetting and accountability of our grantees on a quarterly basis,' Goldenberg says the Endowment has pulled ahead.
'It works. So last year, we placed vets in jobs for 1/15th the cost of placement of the government with much higher quality outcomes in terms of average starting salary, retention rates, and the percentage of those jobs that are for full-time employment,' Goldenberg said. 'And I guess the big lesson out of it is the discipline of business can really make a big difference for social cost. That's been our unequivocal experience. We didn't go in for brands. We looked for nonprofit partners who we thought for the dollar could accomplish the most social impact, and that's what we've gotten.'
As for how the actual 'Call of Duty' video games can help vets, a study done by the Entertainment Software Association found that 86% of surveyed U.S. vets said video games provided them with a 'healthy outlet for stress and anxiety.' 'And not surprisingly, 'Call of Duty' is their favorite game,' Goldenberg says of the study's findings.
'When I've talked to friends who've been forward, when I've gone forward, you would think, and people from outside will say, 'Don't you get enough of the military thing?' And no, it's like a great way for them — especially when we were in active combat, people would come back to the forward operating bases, and they use it to decompress and have fun,' Goldenberg says.
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