As Memorial Day nears and National Military Appreciation Month concludes in US, an unexpected leader in veteran employment has emerged, the video game franchise Call of Duty.
The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.), a nonprofit initiative tied to the popular military video game published by Activision, has placed over 150,000 US veterans in meaningful jobs since its launch in 2009.
According to the organisation’s President Dan Goldenberg, the initiative has been outpacing the federal government’s veteran placement efforts since 2022, reports AP.
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 said.
“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,” he said.
He mentioned that others may have raised more money, but they have 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.
The average starting salary for veterans placed through C.O.D.E. is $75,000, with 93 per cent securing full-time roles.
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The organisation reports an 89 per cent six-month retention rate and notes that 20 per cent of those placed are women. Remarkably, each placement costs just $628 — a fraction of what government programs spend.
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.
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.
Beyond employment, video games like Call of Duty have served as a form of relief for veterans. A study by the Entertainment Software Association found that 86 per cent of surveyed US veterans said gaming helped relieve stress and anxiety — and Call of Duty was their favourite title.
“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?’” Goldenberg said.
“And no, it’s like a great way for them... to decompress and have fun.”