The documents show that the U.S. military considered gaming and, in particular, Call of Duty, as a potentially useful branding and recruiting tool. For example, the Army proposed using Twitch influencers to “create original content videos showcasing the wide range of skillsets offered by the Army,” and to use influencers to “familiarize [their] fans on Army values and opportunities.” The Army also wanted to throw tournaments that featured “soldiers & top names in gaming.” Another goal of the campaigns was to increase the Army’s “favorability” in viewer surveys.
According to the table, the Army intended to spend $750,000 on a mix of the official Call of Duty League Esports tournament, streaming service Paramount+, and the HALO TV show, which aired on Paramount+. The Army also planned to spend $200,000 on sponsoring the mobile version of Call of Duty, including with “reward-based inventory.” The documents suggest the campaign would provide in-game currency to players who viewed Army video ads.
The Army allocated $150,000 to be spent on Stonemountain64, a popular streamer who often plays Call of Duty: Warzone to his audience of 2.32 million subscribers on YouTube. Stonemountain64 often uploads gameplay footage of himself roleplaying as a tongue-in-cheek commanding officer during matches of Warzone.
The documents also mention high profile streamers Swagg, who has 2.66 million subscribers on YouTube, and Alex Zedra. Zedra previously provided the likeness for the character Mara in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) and is a self-described “All American, 2A [second amendment] Gun Slinger.” Swagg and Zedra are listed next to an asterix under the table, which says the Army will reallocate funds based on conversations with the streamers. None of the streamers or their representatives responded to a request for comment.
The table adds the Army allocated $300,000 for OpTic Chicago. OpTic is an esports team which has worked with the Army before, including taking members of the team to fire sniper rifles. The “audience alignment” for Optic Chicago is also Gen-Z, according to the documents. One motivation behind the partnership was to “continue to familiarize OpTic fans on Army values and opportunities,” according to the documents.
But that wasn’t even the worst part.
An August 2021 email included in the documents says “At this time, we intend to ‘pause all activities’ immediately with Activision due to serious allegations of sexual harassment at their workplace, and also recommended tha the Marketing Engagement Brigade not send their eSports team to the tournament.” The email came around two weeks before a planned Army sponsorship of an upcoming tournament. “I bring this to your attention because of the brand reputation issue,” the email adds.
Ladies and gentleman, the US Army, worried about BRAND REPUTATION.
Anyway, literally what every socialist ever said since the beginning of time. US media is of course a propaganda tool for the capitalist class. Here, they are literally spelling it out for you.
Very true. I worked as a personal trainer for a time and part of what I had to learn was sales. My boss was teaching me. One day he comes to work with a new truck. I asked him about it and he was like “oh I didn’t want it, but the sales guy sold me on it. I knew all the techniques he was using, but I let him do his thing and I ended up buying it.” All I could think was ‘if you knew, why’d you let yourself get sold on something you don’t need?’ It’s honestly incredible how some people act.
