No, Call of Duty Does Not Receive Direct Funding From the Military

Before diving into the analysis, I want to unambiguously state that Call of Duty does not receive any direct funding from the U.S. military or Department of Defense for development or promotion of the video game franchise.

Now, with that myth busted, let‘s explore the legitimate ties between the military-themed shooter series and armed forces institutions.

The Call of Duty Endowment: Helping Veterans After Service

The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) is the main connection between the Call of Duty games and real-life military organizations. C.O.D.E. is a nonprofit founded in 2009 by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick to help veterans transition to civilian careers after their service.

"The Call of Duty 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." – C.O.D.E. Website

According to its 2021 Impact Report, the Endowment has funded the placement of 112,733 military veterans into high-quality jobs since its inception. The infographic below shows how their 2021 donations broke down:

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The Endowment has distributed over $50 million to help unemployed vets through partnerships with other nonprofits focused on job placement, training, and counseling.

Where does this funding come from? Primarily donations from Activision Blizzard itself, Call of Duty gamers, and corporate sponsors. Activision even created an in-game "Caller of Duty" cosmetic pack where all proceeds support the endowment.

So while CoD does not take money from the military, the franchise distributes a lot of its profits back to veterans through its charity wing. This understandably generates a lot of goodwill with active service members and vets.

Military Sponsorship of Esports and Recruitment Controversy

The U.S. military also sponsors Call of Duty esports events and streams as a way to reach potential recruits. Here are some examples:

• The U.S. Army was a featured sponsor of the Call of Duty League from 2020 to 2021. They reportedly ended this sponsorship deal amid controversy around the Activision Blizzard lawsuit.
• USAA, which serves military families, sponsors individual esports personalities and CoD League tournaments.
• Military recruiters even sponsor Twitch streamers who play CoD to help reach young gamers.

Activision clearly allows and enables sponsorship relationships between Call of Duty esports and U.S. military institutions. And this marketing tactic works — studies show esports viewers are twice as likely to consider a military career compared to non-esports viewers.

However, many activists including veterans speak out against these recruitment efforts:

"[Call of Duty partnerships are] about manufacturing consent for war by leveraging the cultural cachet of video games to portray military service as a sexy, desirable commodity. It‘s propaganda, pure and simple, and it‘s abhorrent." – Caitlin Meeks (Air Force veteran), Polygon

This debate intersects with broader concerns about young people being unduly influenced into combat roles they don‘t fully grasp. It‘s a complex issue with convincing arguments on both sides.

The Military Community‘s Connection to Call of Duty

Regardless of one‘s opinion on military sponsorships, Call of Duty games do resonate strongly with active and veteran armed forces members. Why?

• Realistic combat – CoD strives for authenticity with weaponry, accessories, uniforms, tactics, etc. This level of fidelity appeals to real-life soldiers.
• Game-like missions – As technology advances, military operations adopt game-like elements including drones and digital simulation training.
• Large gamer demographic – 1.3 million people actively serve in the U.S. military. Many enlisted generations have grown up gaming.

Additionally, the fast pacing, competition, and war themes of Call of Duty naturally appeal to the predominantly young, action-oriented military demographic.

Activision‘s success at cultivating loyalty among service members is clear when you consider that military salaries bumped Call of Duty to #1 on 2021‘s top-selling franchise list!

Does Call of Duty Glorify Warfare?

There‘s an argument to be made that Call of Duty glorifies unsavory aspects of combat, desensitizing players to violence and death.

"Call of Duty represents the latest incarnation in the increasing convergence of military culture industry, and entertainment," says Roger Stahl, Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Georgia.

Indeed, the franchise often appeals to base desires of aggression, adrenaline, conquest, tribalism, and machismo. This rightly raises ethical questions given CoD‘s enormous young impressionable audience.

However, fans are quick to counter that movies and books frequently depict war in moving, dramatic fashion as well. And the majority of gamers can distinguish Call of Duty‘s fictional escapism from reality.

Overall, Call of Duty walks a fine line between honoring soldiers and feeding society‘s fixation on militarism and combat. Reasonable people can disagree on whether these games cross ethical bounds, or simply reflect public interest.

In summary, Call of Duty has extensive financial and communal ties with military organizations, even if the Department of Defense doesn‘t directly fund the franchise. These connections will likely continue fueling controversy around recruitment and warfare glorification for years to come.