Calling All Gamers Call of Duty®: NEXT

Activision

Calling All Gamers Call of Duty®: NEXT

  • 6M+ total views across YouTube and Twitch (Live and Replay) – the most watched Call of Duty® showcase event ever
  • 476k+ peak viewership across Call of Duty® streams 
  • 1.2M+ peak viewership on Twitch and YouTube for all streams broadcasting Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare II
  • $1B in sales within the first ten days of release of Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare II

Since its inception in 2003, Activision Publishing’s Call of Duty® franchise has grossed over $30 billion, becoming not only gaming’s biggest franchise but rivaling that of Hollywood blockbusters. Throw in action figures, comic books and trading cards, and you have a brand that consistently breaks out of gaming to make its mark on pop culture. 

In 2022, Call of Duty® had a ton of new product announcements, including three exciting games – Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare II, the franchise’s premium title; Call of Duty®: Warzone 2.0, the franchise’s free to play experience, and Call of Duty®: Warzone Mobile, the upcoming release of a ‘best on glass’ Call of Duty experience. Knowing the culture blast radius this would set off, the team turned to gaming and experiential experts OS Studios and George P. Johnson Experience Marketing (GPJ) to craft one of the biggest announcements in Call of Duty® history. 

Together, we created Call of Duty®: Next and crafted an experience that brought 200 of the top global livestreamers and content creators together in person to our “streamer arena.” They all had one mission: to be the first to play this next generation of Call of Duty® and broadcast their experiences and reactions live to the world.

This industry-defining showcase for Call of Duty® was historic in more ways than one. 

Not only was this the largest gathering of this caliber of streamers and content creators in one space, with stars like Ninja, TimTheTatman, Dr Lupo & Nickmercs sharing the same stage, but each one was broadcasting on their unique channels to their own audiences. 

Additionally, we pulled in the best of gameplay from streamers in a fast-paced “RedZone” style show broadcast on Call of Duty®’s official social media channels across the globe. Nine on-camera hosts and sideline reporters guided the global audience through the three product launches, major announcements from the development team at Infinity Ward, and all the twists and turns of live gameplay on two different stages. We also worked with many partners and sponsors, which included product placement and mentions in broadcast, red-carpet arrivals and sweepstakes for viewer rewards. 

The result? The biggest Call of Duty® Beta Launch of all-time, and the most watched showcase event ever for Call of Duty® – which helped contribute toward the game’s blockbuster October launch leading to $1b in sales for the first 10 days of Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare II’s release. KPIs were smashed, with viewership across Twitch & YouTube at over 6m+ views – before including any of our guest streamers’ numbers.