At Activision Blizzard, we believe in the power of inclusion and recognise our responsibility to foster environments where everyone can be themselves and feel included. This commitment starts within our own four walls and extends to the broader gaming community. With this vision in mind, we are excited to announce our partnership with Code First Girls to provide women and non-binary people with unparalleled opportunities to advance their careers in technology and gaming.

The gaming industry is a dynamic and rapidly growing field, with over 3 billion people around the world playing games. To continue to create games that resonate with a wide audience, it is crucial that our gaming teams bring different perspectives to the table and reflect our players.

As part of this exciting partnership, Activision Blizzard is sponsoring places across the three annual CFGdegree programmes. This initiative offers women and non-binary individuals free education and skills training, supporting Code First Girl’s streams in Software Engineering, Data, Full Stack and Product Management. Our sponsorship aims to educate, mentor, and support candidates in their preparation to secure successful careers in these fields.

Analysis of the latest ONS Annual Population Survey reveals that women make up only 22% of Information Technology professionals in the UK, including cyber security and software development professionals. We are excited to partner with Code First Girls to upskill local communities of women in core technical skills for free, removing barriers and helping to close the tech gender gap in the gaming industry. 

"We're thrilled to collaborate with Code First Girls to champion female and non-binary talent in the tech and gaming industry," said Karen Venn, DE&I EMEA lead at Activision Blizzard. "Our collaboration has already impacted over 750 students through individual classes, advancing our overarching goal of creating a more inclusive future for gaming where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued."

“Code First Girls is on a mission to close the gender gap in the tech industry by providing employment through free education. We’ve already helped more than 200,000 women learn to code and by working with companies globally, like Activision Blizzard, we’re boosting employability, diversity and social mobility, transforming local economies and communities,” said Anna Brailsford at Code First Girls.

Applications for the Autumn 2024 CFGdegree programme are now open until 28th June at 5 PM BST. This programme is an incredible opportunity for women and non-binary individuals to gain the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in various fields such as software engineering, data analytics, and cybersecurity. 

We encourage all UK based eligible candidates to apply and take the first step towards a rewarding career in tech and gaming.

Click the link to sign up now: https://codefirstgirls.com/courses/cfgdegree/

At Activision Blizzard, our dedication to inclusion is focused on creating meaningful change. Our partnership with Code First Girls is a testament to our commitment to fostering a more inclusive gaming industry. We believe that by empowering talent from a wide variety of backgrounds, we can create better games and a more vibrant community for all.

Join us in this exciting journey towards a more inclusive future. Together, we can build worlds where everyone belongs.

Military Appreciation Month is always an important time for Activision Blizzard and the Call of Duty Endowment and this year, we have more to celebrate than ever.

Key takeaways

• Kenneth C. Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel and Founder of Griffin Catalyst, has donated $2.5M to the Endowment, the largest private donation the organization has ever received. 

• The gift will support job placement for more than 4,000 veterans.

• The Endowment is also launching the Call of Duty Endowment Knight Recon: Tracer Pack in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III, Call of Duty®: Warzone™, Call of Duty®: Warzone™ Mobile, and the Call of Duty: Mobile Regulator pack to raise additional funding for veterans’ employment.

• The Endowment is launching a new in-game challenge called “U Assist Veterans” presented by USAA that will allocate $1M to veterans’ employment.

The Call of Duty Endowment receives largest private donation in its history from Kenneth C. Griffin

Kenneth C. Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel and Founder of Griffin Catalyst, has donated $2.5M to the Endowment to support veterans’ employment. This donation is the largest single private donation in the Endowment’s 15-year history and will support the placement of more than 4,000 veterans into high-quality, high paying jobs. 

“I am proud to support our military veterans who have given years of their lives to defend America and our freedoms. These men and women represent the very best of our country’s enduring values,” said Mr. Griffin. “The Call of Duty Endowment honors the service of these heroes by helping them bring their capabilities to superlative jobs in the private sector.”

With this donation, Mr. Griffin continues his long-standing support for organizations that support service members, veterans, and their families. The Endowment’s rigorous standards and effectiveness at placing veterans into high-quality roles complements the strategic approach of Griffin Catalyst, Mr. Griffin’s civic engagement initiative, which partners with high-impact organizations to advance innovative, data-driven, and timely solutions to critical challenges. 

“We want to thank Ken and Griffin Catalyst for their generous donation,” said Helene Imperiale, Senior Director of the Call of Duty Endowment. “The Endowment prides itself on working with nonprofits that are the most effective at providing the services veterans need most when seeking a job, and we’re honored that our work has been recognized by the team at Griffin Catalyst.”

Since its inception, the Endowment has placed over 125,000 veterans into jobs, creating more than $7 billion in economic value for veterans and their families through salaries. 

Introducing the Call of Duty Endowment Knight Recon: Tracer Pack and the Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) Regulator Pack

Today, we’re launching the Call of Duty Endowment Knight Recon: Tracer Pack in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III , Call of Duty®: Warzone™, and Call of Duty®: Warzone™ Mobile. The pack includes two operator skins, two tracer weapon blueprints, and much more. The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E) Knight Recon: Tracer Pack is now available on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, iOS, and Android. 

And as a special thank you for their service, the Endowment and USAA are offering free Call of Duty Endowment Knight Recon: Tracer Packs to U.S. military and veterans. Please visit www.callofdutyendowment.org/usaa for more information. While supplies last. Quantities limited. ID.me account required. See official rules here.   

We’ve also launched the first Endowment pack on Call of Duty: Mobile, the Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) Regulator Pack. This pack features the Endowment’s pioneering female operator, Splicer, and will also include a vehicle skin, calling card, and more. 

100% of net proceeds from these in-game packs will support the Endowment’s mission to place veterans into high-quality jobs.   

Complete the UAV challenge presented by USAA and raise money for vets

"The Endowment will host the U Assist Veterans Challenge presented by USAA in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III (including Zombies) and Call of Duty®: Warzone™. Complete the challenge to help U.S. and U.K. military veterans navigate their career search while earning in-game rewards from May 8-22. Throughout the challenge, Activision Blizzard will allocate funds as part of a $1 million total donation that Activision Blizzard has made to the Endowment to help place veterans into high-quality jobs."

Celebrating 15 years of placing veterans into jobs

“2024 marks the Endowment’s 15th year anniversary, and we’re making this one of the biggest Military Appreciation Months ever,” said Helene Imperiale, Senior Director of the Call of Duty Endowment. “We are striving to place more than 15,500 veterans into jobs through our fundraising efforts this year, and we know our community will rise to the challenge and have a blast calling in those U.A.V.s and playing with the Knight Recon pack.”

For 15 years, the Call of Duty Endowment has funded services that have helped 125,000 veterans find meaningful careers after their military service. The Endowment partners with the most effective nonprofit veterans organizations in both the U.S. and U.K. to deliver low cost, high value job placement, the service most requested by veterans. In 2023, the average cost for one of our grantees to place a veteran in a job was $618, about 1/13th the cost per placement of the U.S. government’s efforts.

Today, AbleGamers is launching a fundraiser where Activision Blizzard fans will have the chance to win prizes like a trip to Treyarch or Blizzard, a custom Ghost mask, Diablo hot sauce, and more. The sweepstakes will be running from April 17 - May 10. Participants can donate HERE for a chance to win and help AbleGamers support gamers with disabilities in the process.

Inclusive game design is a key pillar throughout our organization because we know that we have a responsibility to create worlds where everyone can feel welcome and play their way. That’s why we’re collaborating with AbleGamers to help them further their mission with this fundraiser. 

AbleGamers is an organization whose mission is to create opportunities that enable play in order to combat social isolation, foster inclusive communities, and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. Through its APX training, AbleGamers has equipped Activision Blizzard developers with the knowledge and resources to develop more accessible games. 

Interested in supporting but can’t donate at this time? Share the sweepstakes with your friends and encourage people to participate. 

At Activision Blizzard, we believe that having a workforce with a broad set of perspectives and backgrounds leads to more inclusive games where players can explore expansive and welcoming worlds, show up as their authentic selves in alignment with our values, and feel that sense of belonging we’re all looking for. That’s why we continue to invest in fostering a culture of belonging — it creates an environment where people can do and be their best, and therefore deliver the best experience for our players.

In last year’s 2022 DEI Look-Back, we shared how we set the foundation to make Activision Blizzard the most welcoming and inclusive company in the industry.  In 2023, we continued to build on our momentum on putting inclusion into practice across the whole organization and within specific business teams to help continually foster a deeper sense of belonging. This work has led to more innovations in accessibility and inclusive game design.

Takeaways

• Inclusive game design (IGD) continues to be an area we invest heavily in because we know that when games are designed with everyone in mind, our industry can continue to grow and become more welcoming. 

• We believe that the people who make our games should reflect the people who play them. Women and non-binary people currently represent a combined 27% of Activision Blizzard’s global workforce, a 1 ppt increase year over year.

• We’ve prioritized nurturing an inclusive mindset in our workforce to continually foster a welcoming workplace culture. Respecting and celebrating everyone's lived experiences helps us to retain and attract the best talent in the industry and relate to the communities we serve. 

Embedding inclusion into our games

We invested heavily in our inclusive game design (IGD) efforts in 2023 to better serve a broader population and give gamers choice and flexibility. 

This year we built even more resources to upskill game developers. We deepened partnerships with organizations like AbleGamers, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, and Center for Scholars and Storytellers by launching an Inclusive Game Design Council. These relationships help us to bring more expertise and resources to support our teams as they’re creating new characters, storylines, and games. 

The inclusive game design practice at Activision Blizzard is focused on three pillars: representation, accessibility, and community.

Representation

It is important that our games showcase different cultures, identities, and lived experiences in an authentic and compassionate way.

One of the best ways to create more representation in games is to have representation in the workplace. For example, an artist on the Overwatch team inspired and helped create the first Thai hero in Overwatch 2, Lifeweaver. 

At Activision Blizzard we employ many veterans who are passionate about contributing their talent and skills to the industry and creating and increasing visibility for veterans. This is one of the many reasons we launched the Call of Duty Endowment Warrior Pack in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. The bundle was inspired by and created in close collaboration with a decorated retired U.S. Navy SEAL who shared how his Samoan heritage is a crucial influence in his life. 

Another way we’re striving to authentically represent characters is by hiring voice actors who identify with the character. The Overwatch team searched to find an actress with a shared lived experience as the new Peruvian character, Illari — enabling her to record Illari’s voice in English, Spanish, and Quechua, the indigenous language originating in central Peru.

Another example is Crash Team Rumble’s first non-binary character, Catbat, voiced by a genderfluid actor who uses all pronouns.

We’re proud to have employees with different lived experiences at Activision Blizzard, but we know that alone isn’t enough. That’s why we provide our game teams with resources and workshops to help guide their thinking around nuanced topics. In 2023, we hosted learning sessions that focused on topics like appropriation in storytelling, gender identity, and gender bias.  

Accessibility

Anyone who wants to play our games should be able to play our games. Nearly 200 employees across Activision, Blizzard, and King became certified as Accessible Player Experience (APX) Practitioners through AbleGamers. 

Both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Diablo IV launched with new accessibility features, like dead zone inputs and button remapping. These features allow players to customize their controllers so those with motor disabilities can still play. Diablo IV was recognized for this work by the Game Awards when it got nominated for “Innovation in Accessibility”. But these are nothing compared to what this work means for our players like @tyleniphe, who is the first blind player to complete Diablo IV without sighted help — he finished in six days!

Accessibility features in our games expanded across our mobile games as well. In Farm Heroes, a music accessibility menu now allows players to change the audio playback which can help those with hearing loss or sensitivity. Candy Crush Soda Saga includes a new “Precision Help” option in the accessibility menu that gives players more feedback when selecting a candy by enlarging it. 

Community

The work to create inclusive and welcoming online communities is an ongoing effort. We’ve made some great strides this year and are continuing to innovate in this space for our players and the industry as a whole. 

In 2023 we continued to share progress around our anti-toxicity efforts in Call of Duty, including the latest blog post that shared an update to the Code of Conduct. Blizzard also shared their efforts to cultivate a positive and fair gameplay experience in Overwatch 2 through Defense Matrix updates.

At the end of 2023, we launched new in-game voice chat moderation in Call of Duty. This feature was implemented globally (excluding Asia) in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Examining month-over-month data, Call of Duty saw an 8% reduction in repeat offenders since the rollout. Our voice moderation and reporting, combined with username and text chat moderation, provide our players with both proactive and reactive protection against disruptive behavior.

Representation at Activision Blizzard

Our global workforce currently has a combined 27% representation of women and non-binary people, a 1 ppt increase year over year. The representation of all racial and ethnic groups remained constant year over year. In the future, we plan to integrate these updates into Microsoft’s Annual D&I report. We remain committed to strengthening a culture of inclusion across every part of the Activision Blizzard business.

Fostering and promoting an environment of inclusion and belonging

Our progress in inclusive game design is driven by our incredible, talented team across the globe. We’ve doubled down on our efforts to encourage inclusive mindsets and behaviors and provide our employees with opportunities for growth and support. This culture of inclusion that we’ve worked so hard to foster at the company helps our people be their authentic selves and create the most impactful games for our players. 

Mentorship opportunities to cultivate support

Mentorship and sponsorship took center stage in 2023 across the company to provide the support, connection, and development our employees need to grow in their careers. Activision Publishing launched its first mentoring program, with over 1,400 people signed up to participate. Blizzard piloted a sponsorship program that matched senior leaders with executive team sponsors to support their continued career growth. The program participants included over 60% women, and represented a broad range of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. King continued its mentorship program with over 630 participants and Activision Blizzard in the UK launched reverse mentoring this year where mentors had the chance to learn from their mentees. 

Programs that fuel conversation

We worked in partnership with our Learning & Development team to launch collections of learning content focused on awareness, belonging, and inclusion, with an emphasis on facilitating inclusive conversations. Our employees completed over 900 courses, including sessions on topics like inclusive language and how it creates safety and belonging at work. 

Upgrades to our technology

In addition to supporting our people, we continued to invest in technology that supports an inclusive workplace. We now support 28 languages for real-time translation on video conference calls. We also fostered connection through technology by rolling out a new platform to our Global Employee Networks called Teleskope. Teleskope enables our Networks to better engage members, plan and track events, manage budgets, and share information. Updates were also made to the company’s HR tool, giving employees the opportunity to share their pronouns and name pronunciation globally. In addition, gender and race and ethnicity categories were updated to further reflect our employees’ broad spectrum of identities, giving our employees a more affirming self-identification experience.

Looking Ahead

2023 was a year of immense change for the team at Activision Blizzard — a year full of connection, commitment, and conversation. We’ve made incredible strides to ensure our values and vision for a more inclusive gaming industry spread into every corner of our organization. We know that this work to foster belonging in our workforce and strengthen our culture of inclusion creates an environment where our team can be innovative and creative. Now, as part of Team Xbox, we’re excited to continue this critical work and do even more to bring our games to everyone, everywhere. We are confident that our combined efforts will drive more progress to create a stronger, inclusive organization as part of Microsoft.

Footnote: The data we shared in this blog is representative of our employee base as of Dec 31, 2023. The reduction in force in January of this year is not reflected in this update. 

The data included in this presentation represent our best estimates based on data included in our systems. Data was pulled on 1/10/2024. Our gender data is global, where permissible by local law, and represents employees’ self-selection between fields of “Woman,” “Man,” “Non-binary,” “Something else,” and “Prefer not to say.” In calculating gender representation, we consider the percentage of known employees (i.e., those who have not selected “Prefer not to say,” or have not identified in any way). Gender representation data reflects regular, non-temporary employees with employee contract type “regular,” that were employed as of 12/31/2023. Our race and ethnicity data is limited to the United States and, like our gender data, represents employees’ self-selection. In this case, the fields from which employees select include “White,” “two or more races,” “Hispanic or Latinx,” “Native American or Alaska Native,” “Black or African American,” “Asian,” “Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander,” and “Prefer not to say.”  Again, in calculating ethnicity representation, we consider the percentage of known employees (i.e., those who have not selected “prefer not to say” or have not identified in any way). Race and ethnicity representation data reflects regular, non-temporary employees with employee contract type “regular” and a “work location” in the United States that were employed as of 12/31/2023.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sent the following email to employees:

Extraordinary People,

Over the years, my passion for video games has often been attributed to Pitfall!, River Raid, and Kaboom!. I love those Atari 2600 games, but the game that first captured my imagination was Mystery House, developed by Roberta and Ken Williams. I played it on a borrowed Apple II night after night while in college at the University of Michigan.

Mystery House was a text adventure with some primitive sprite-based graphics. (Fittingly, we now own Mystery House and the company that published it, Sierra On Line.) The world in which the game was played was largely left to the player’s imagination. I envisioned rich, vast worlds with all sorts of interactive, animated life that would enable players to fulfill their varied aspirations—all in a simulated universe that offered unlimited possibilities for challenge, connection, and fun.

Forty years later, as my last day leading this company inches closer, I marvel at how far the talented people at our company have come toward realizing the great potential of games. You have transformed a hobbyist form of entertainment into the world’s most engaging medium. It has been the privilege of my lifetime to work alongside you as we broadened the appeal of games.

Perhaps the most important part of my job has been to help bring talented people together, provide the best resources possible, and foster an environment that encourages inspiration, creativity, and unwavering commitment to excellence.

I cannot adequately express the pride I have in the people who continue to contribute to our success and all those who have helped throughout my 32 years leading this company.

We are now part of the world’s most admired company. That isn’t an accident.

Phil Spencer has appreciated the magic of ABK for decades. When he approached Brian and me two years ago and proposed acquiring the company, it was immediately obvious that the combination of our businesses would enable us to continue to lead as the list of capable, well-resourced competitors grows.

Phil shares our values and recognizes our talents. He is passionate about our games and the people who make them. He has bold ambition.

As we move into our next exciting chapter, you could not be in better hands.

I will always be profoundly grateful to the people who contributed tirelessly to building this company and I am confident you will keep inspiring joy and uniting people through the power of play.

With gratitude and appreciation,

Bobby Kotick

Previously

• Activision Blizzard’s next adventure (Oct. 13, 2023)

• Bobby Kotick: A new chapter for Activision Blizzard (Oct. 13, 2023)

• The final step in the UK for the Microsoft deal (Oct 12, 2023)

• The latest step in the UK for the Microsoft deal (Sep 21, 2023)

• The next step in the UK for the Microsoft deal (Aug 21, 2023)

• Deadline extended on the Microsoft deal (July 19, 2023)

• A federal court denied the FTC's request to block the Microsoft deal (July 11, 2023)

• We're ready to make our case for the Microsoft deal in federal court (June 12, 2023)

• Regulators in Europe approve the Microsoft deal (May 15, 2023)

• We’ll keep pressing our case for a Microsoft deal (April 26, 2023)

• A March update on the Microsoft deal (March 28, 2023)

• A February update on the Microsoft deal (February 8, 2023)

• A December update on the Microsoft deal (December 8, 2022)

• Defining the future: Announcing a merger with Microsoft (January 18, 2022)

What happened this year? A lot.

We launched new games. Rolled out new seasons. Deployed new updates. Celebrated new anniversaries. (It was a busy year!)

But we also dropped new singles, debuted fresh fashions, crowned new champions, and shifted culture itself.

Before the curtain opens on what’s sure to be a glorious 2024, here’s a look back at Activision Blizzard’s year to remember.

We joined Team Xbox.

There is, of course, the biggest news of all—that Activision, Blizzard, and King are now part of Microsoft Gaming. (Anyone else want to see a Minesweeper and Call of Duty collab?) Our two organizations worked incredibly hard to bring this amazing partnership to life. The result? A chance to reimagine the future of gaming.

As we wrote on the day of the deal close, it’s an exciting new adventure for our team, and we’re stoked to bring our games to more people in more places and co-create the future of gaming together.

Tell us your favorite moments from this year in the comments.

We reloaded, kickflipped, and rumbled.

Activision Publishing had an active 2023.

In June, we introduced Crash Team Rumble, the 4v4 online multiplayer game developed by Toys for Bob and starring characters from the world of Crash Bandicoot. 

In October, we made the iconic Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 collection—remastered for a new generation of players—available on Steam. 

But the biggest splash of all? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, of course. The latest installment of the wildly popular action franchise debuted on November 10 and has thrilled players since. As of December 13, the new game brought in more hours per player overall than its predecessors from 2019 and 2022, more Campaign mode hours per player than the previous two installments, and the most hours per player for a new premium Call of Duty release during the Thanksgiving weekend since 2019. One more thing: Zombies is now the most engaging third mode in Modern Warfare history. The action didn’t stop with new launches.

We rolled out six seasons of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, multiple seasons of the aforementioned Crash Team Rumble, and countless updates along the way. Activision also celebrated the 25th anniversary of Spyro, the 20th anniversary of Call of Duty, 10 million units sold of Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and 10 million units sold of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

And did we mention the music? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III featured “Call Me Revenge,” an original song by 21 Savage featured in-game and within the game’s marketing campaign. In addition, global artist Peso Pluma collaborated with Call of Duty to create “Peligro,” a song inspired by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. As Nigel Tufnel might say, these go to eleven.

We butchered, skirmished, and cosplayed.

‘Twas a big year for Blizzard Entertainment, too.

The long-awaited Diablo IV made its debut in June, tallying an astonishing $666 million in sales in the first five days and earning the title of fastest-selling Blizzard game of all time. Players killed 276 billion monsters in the first week and played 1.5 billion hours by the first week of November. More than 23 million players played a Diablo title this year, and what can we say about that other than: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥?

Speaking of November…Blizzard also rolled out Warcraft Rumble, the mobile action strategy game set in the Warcraft universe. The engagement numbers are eye-popping. Players have played more than 4.5 million hours worth in the first official launch week alone. Just 86 players have bested the mighty dragon Onyxia since November 3—but players have defeated more than 300 million bosses since the game’s soft launch. (Hungry for more? The most used mini is S.A.F.E. Pilot, played in more than 248 million matches; the most used leader is Baron Rivendare, played in nearly 100 million matches.)

All of this led Warcraft Rumble to be the No. 1 mobile strategy game in November. Pretty pretty pretty…pretty good.

Elsewhere, Blizzard introduced multiple seasons of Diablo III, IV, and Diablo Immortal, released six content updates for World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, revealed the three World of Warcraft: Worldsoul Saga expansions (The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan), and launched two updates for World of Warcraft Classic—Hardcore Realms and Season of Discovery. 

Blizzard also supported more than six seasons of Overwatch 2 with lots of newness including the addition of Hero Mastery and PvE Story modes, a new hero called Mauga, a new support called Illari. Not to mention special team-ups with John Cena and LE SSERAFIM—Blizzard’s first in-game musical collaboration. There was also plenty of Hearthstone hype in the form of catch-up packs and three new expansions: Festival of Legends (with the Audiopocalypse mini-set), Titans, and Showdown in the Badlands.

And then there was BlizzCon. Blizzard’s fantastically popular convention returned IRL to the Anaheim Convention Center this year with all of the news, cosplay costumes, and community you’ve grown to expect. It was great to see everyone in person and celebrate Blizzard games as a community again live.

We celebrated the playful.

King continued to surprise and delight its global audience with exciting updates and 2023 marked the 20th anniversary of the Candy Crush and Farm Heroes maker.

There was so much to celebrate at King that we partied after we reached the incredible milestone of $20 billion in revenue.

We partied after Candy Crush added its 15,000th level, where the newest designers on the team get to design the milestone level leaving their mark on the always growing game.

And we partied after engaging in supercool partnerships with the Jonas Brothers (songs!), World Surf League (Soda Surf Cup!), Barbie (quests!), and the fashion designer Christian Cowan (attachable pockets!).

We raised a salute.

The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) reached the milestone of placing 125,000 military veterans in high-quality, high-paying jobs over the last 14 years—the equivalent of 24 vets per day. (That’s enough service members to fill every seat in the largest football stadium in the U.S. and still leave some standing.) The Endowment has created nearly $7 billion in economic value for U.S. and U.K. veterans and their families, and that’s phenomenal.

But we didn’t stop there. We also hosted the Loot for Good in-game charity event for Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and crowned a surprising new C.O.D.E. Bowl champion: the Royal Canadian Air Force, who had joined the competition for the very first time.

We crowned the playful.

Speaking of esports…Call of Duty League wrapped 2023 as its most-watched season with an average viewership of nearly 190,000 people—the highest to date for a Call of Duty esports event.

Meanwhile the World Series of Warzone held its first-ever in-person tournament in front of a sold-out crowd in London and attracted more than 60,000 signups.

Finally, the Overwatch League saw the Florida Mayhem win Season 6, which means the bottom four teams of Season 1—San Francisco Shock, Shanghai Dragons, Dallas Fuel, and Florida Mayhem—have now won championships.

Plus: Team United States from the Overwatch World Cup fulfilled a Make-A-Wish Foundation fundraising goal.

We put people first.

We shared our 2022 progress in our ESG report that highlighted how we quadrupled the number of women in game development leadership roles since 2016 and increased the combined percentage of employees who self-reported as a woman or non-binary person.

We now count 142 Way2Play Heroes at the company. Way2Play Heroes is our global network of peer-nominated global ambassadors from across Activision, Blizzard, and King who serve as a sounding board for all of our employees to speak up and ultimately strengthen our ethics and compliance efforts.

About 3,200 employees are now members of our global employee network groups. This year we launched our tenth such group, the Multicultural Employee Network.

We also welcomed 240 babies born to our team members this year and congratulated many U.S. employees who grew their families through the company’s surrogacy and adoption benefit or received support through our Infertility Treatment Program this year.

We celebrated our achievements.

Individuals, teams, and their amazing creations were recognized in a number of ways this year. 

Some of our favorite nods include: 

• Diablo IV was nominated for Innovation in Accessibility and Best Multiplayer at The Game Awards

• BAFTA nominations for Diablo IV (Artistic Achievement, Multiplayer, Music, Narrative) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (Audio Achievement, Multiplayer, Technical Achievement)

• The Clio Entertainment Award for Game Publisher of the Year

• Inclusion on Newsweek’s America’s Greenest Companies list, thanks to our commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050

• Top marks in As You Sow’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report, which ranked Activision Blizzard No. 2 overall among large-cap companies—besting Amazon, Netflix, and Nike—and No. 1 in the communications services category

We’ve got more surprises ahead.

For more than four decades, players have inspired us to push the boundaries of imagination and deliver the world’s most epic interactive entertainment experiences.

We certainly did that this year—and have every intention of keeping up the momentum in 2024, bringing our iconic universes to more people, more screens, and in more players' hands than ever before.

So like we told you last year: Check your loadout, adjust your avatar, sharpen your blade, and—as always—game on. We’ll see you in the new year 🎮

Rivalries don’t get much better than this.

On Thursday December 7, 2023—just 48 hours before the annual American football tradition known as the Army-Navy Game—the U.S. Army, Navy, and Coast Guard academies will compete in an esports competition like never before.

It’s called the Service Academy Skirmish, and it’s a virtual battle for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III supremacy in the form of a round robin tournament. The winning service academy gets to take on the Boston Breach, the professional Call of Duty League esports team owned by Kraft Sports Group and Oxygen Esports.

Um, no pressure.

In the 21st century, it only makes sense to relocate a more than century-old rivalry to a digital forum. Instead of facing off at Gillette Stadium (the site of this year’s Army-Navy game), Skirmish teams may tussle in Quarry, Rust, or Scrapyard. Instead of moving the pigskin down the field, players will choose among 114 weapons including the Sidewinder, Striker, and Riveter.

And this competition arrives with a completely clean slate. Unlike on the gridiron, where Navy carries the historic edge in terms of total wins, no team arrives with baggage. The crown is any academy’s to claim.

The Service Academy Skirmish is hosted by the Activision Blizzard King Veteran Employee Network, an employee-led affinity organization where veterans can connect, support each other, and build community.

In other words: You won’t want to miss this. Tune in on your platform of choice at 2 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 7 to catch the action:

• Boston Breach Twitch

• Call of Duty YouTube

Game on.

For more

• C.O.D.E. Bowl IV's champions speak out

• 10 reasons to watch C.O.D.E. Bowl IV on Oct. 5

• Follow Call of Duty Endowment on Instagram

• Follow C.O.D.E. on Facebook

• Follow C.O.D.E. on X

We’re going to need a bigger shelf.

Activision Blizzard won Game Publisher of the Year from the Clio Entertainment Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, adding to an already banner 2023. The awards recognize creative excellence in entertainment marketing, and we’re honored to have received two individual awards as well as the Publisher of the Year award, which means our games received the most nominations out of any other company. Given Microsoft/Xbox’s past winning streak…we’re happy to keep the award in the family! 

Activision Blizzard was honored alongside Netflix, which won Network of the Year, and Universal Pictures, which won Studio of the Year.

Adding to the big night, Call of Duty also took the top prize for Branded Content for its “Corrido of Duty” campaign. As part of the global launch for Modern Warfare II, Call of Duty partnered with hit musical group Banda MS to create a custom song that was featured in the game.

Also, Activision Blizzard’s charity program Loot for Good won for Experiential/Event/Activation. Each time a player extracted $30,000 of in-game cash during a DMZ match in Call of Duty: Warzone, Loot for Good allocated $1 to the Call of Duty Endowment to place veterans into high-quality jobs for a total of $1 million.

Activision Blizzard was on the shortlist for 34 individual awards, including for outstanding work on Call of Duty, Call of Duty: Warzone, Call of Duty: Mobile, Diablo 4, and Overwatch 2.

Find a full list of the Clio Award winners here.

Go deeper

• C.O.D.E. Bowl IV's champions speak out

• ‘The Boys’ comes to Call of Duty

• 'Call of Duty' developer doubles down on Europe

• Oliver Heldens, Call of Duty partner on EDM anthem

MWIII is here.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, the newest addition to the iconic first-person action franchise, has officially launched. It’s now playable on Sony PlayStation (4 and 5), Microsoft Xbox (X, S, and One), Battle.net, and Steam. Get it here.

The game is a direct sequel—the first in back-to-back years—to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. In this new installment, Captain John Price and the joint multinational special operations military unit known as Task Force 141 face off against the ruthless ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov.

There’s a lot to unpack.

In campaign mode, Modern Warfare III introduces open combat missions that give players more choice alongside its signature cinematic narrative that picks up right where MWII left off.

In multiplayer mode, all 16 launch maps from the original Modern Warfare 2 (2009) have been modernized and made available. There will also be new, innovative Ground War maps and the return of War Mode from 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII. Better still, more than a dozen all-new 6v6 maps are planned for later seasons.

And don’t forget about Zombies. The popular mode—which features massive hordes of the undead, obviously—is back with a new story, an open world PvE (player vs. environment) survival experience, and the largest Call of Duty Zombies map ever.

On top of all that, there’s seamless weapon progression and plenty of “carry forward” content for players of Modern Warfare II. (For more details, head over to the Call of Duty blog.)

So, um, what are you waiting for? Play MWIII here.

Go deeper

• C.O.D.E. Bowl IV's champions speak out

• ‘The Boys’ comes to Call of Duty

• 'Call of Duty' developer doubles down on Europe

• Oliver Heldens, Call of Duty partner on EDM anthem

Pumpkin spice season is back, Activision Blizzard joined Team Xbox, and it’s also our birthday month (yes, it would be rude to ask how old we are).

As we begin an exciting new chapter in our company’s history, we wanted to look back at some of the major milestones, groundbreaking games, and key moments from the past few decades that defined us.

Thank you for helping make so many memories.

—The team at Activision Blizzard

It’s a big day for us at Activision Blizzard. For more than four decades, our players have inspired us to push the boundaries of imagination with iconic universes including Call of Duty, Candy Crush Saga, Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, Overwatch, and Warcraft.

Today we begin a new chapter as we officially become a part of the Microsoft family, uniting with the amazing Xbox team and co-creating the future of gaming together.

In our earliest days we were a modest collective of designers who raided rivers, commanded choppers, and avoided pitfalls. Now as part of Xbox, we will continue our mission to deliver the world’s most epic interactive entertainment experiences to more people, more platforms, and across more worlds than ever before.

All of our history and success leading to this moment is because of you, our incredible gaming community. 

To the reapers, fighters, rogues, and airstrikers,
The sharpshooters, revivers, healers, and bubble bursters,
Sorcerers, shamans, slayers, and survivors,

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for playing with us. We do everything we do for you, and we can't wait to embark on our next adventure together.

–The team at Activision Blizzard

For more

• A new chapter (October 13, 2023)

• Defining the future: Announcing a merger with Microsoft (January 18, 2022)

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sent the following email to employees:

Team,

Today marks a milestone in our company’s celebrated history.

Combining with Microsoft will bring new resources and new opportunities to our extraordinary teams worldwide. It will also enable us to deliver more fun, more joy, and more connection to more players than ever before.

This moment is possible because of your efforts over four decades to innovate, inspire, and achieve.

When Brian Kelly and I began this journey in 1991, we intended to build a company that would have great impact and lasting value. Your tireless work and unwavering commitment to excellence enabled us to do just that. In the 1980s, we pioneered independent, third-party game development with Pitfall, River Raid, and Kaboom. In the 1990s, we united the world with online multiplayer games like MechWarrior, Warcraft, and StarCraft. In the 2000s, we introduced Call of Duty, which became one of the most successful entertainment franchises in history. We also introduced Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, which entered popular culture in ways few videogames ever have. In the 2010s, we debuted Candy Crush Saga, which to date has been downloaded more than five billion times and contributed to our total worldwide players being fifty percent female.

Your dedication is what makes it possible for us to continually push envelopes, break records, and delight players. Amid the uncertainty of the last 21 months, you’ve remained focused, as always, on serving our players and supporting each other.

I have long said that I am fully committed to helping with the transition. Phil Spencer has asked me to stay on as CEO of ABK, reporting to him, and we have agreed that I will do that through the end of 2023. We both look forward to working together on a smooth integration for our teams and players.

Brian and I couldn’t be more excited for the next chapter for ABK. We now join one of the most successful global companies, poised for unprecedented opportunities to connect the world through our games. 

As a part of Microsoft, we will be even better, together.

Bobby Kotick

For more

• The final step in the UK for the Microsoft deal (Oct 12, 2023)

• The latest step in the UK for the Microsoft deal (Sep 21, 2023)

• The next step in the UK for the Microsoft deal (Aug 21, 2023)

• Deadline extended on the Microsoft deal (July 19, 2023)

• A federal court denied the FTC's request to block the Microsoft deal (July 11, 2023)

• We're ready to make our case for the Microsoft deal in federal court (June 12, 2023)

• Regulators in Europe approve the Microsoft deal (May 15, 2023)

• We’ll keep pressing our case for a Microsoft deal (April 26, 2023)

• A March update on the Microsoft deal (March 28, 2023)

• A February update on the Microsoft deal (February 8, 2023)

• A December update on the Microsoft deal (December 8, 2022)

• Defining the future: Announcing a merger with Microsoft (January 18, 2022)

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sent the following email to employees:

Team,

Today the CMA, the regulatory authority in the UK, approved our transaction with Microsoft. 

We now have all regulatory approvals necessary to close and we look forward to bringing joy and connection to even more players around the world. 

Our board chair Brian Kelly and I are incredibly proud of all of you and your accomplishments over the last four decades. We’re excited for our next chapter together with Microsoft and the endless possibilities it creates for you and for our players.

With gratitude,

Bobby

Previously

• The latest step in the UK for the Microsoft deal (Sep 21, 2023)

• The next step in the UK for the Microsoft deal (Aug 21, 2023)

• Deadline extended on the Microsoft deal (July 19, 2023)

• A federal court denied the FTC's request to block the Microsoft deal (July 11, 2023)

• We're ready to make our case for the Microsoft deal in federal court (June 12, 2023)

• Regulators in Europe approve the Microsoft deal (May 15, 2023)

• We’ll keep pressing our case for a Microsoft deal (April 26, 2023)

• A March update on the Microsoft deal (March 28, 2023)

• A February update on the Microsoft deal (February 8, 2023)

• A December update on the Microsoft deal (December 8, 2022)

• Defining the future: Announcing a merger with Microsoft (January 18, 2022)

Call of Duty Endowment Bowl, the annual esports competition benefiting veterans, had always been a bilateral affair between the United States and the United Kingdom.

For this year’s tournament, presented by USAA, Canada joined the fray—and surprised everyone by winning it all.

In four rounds of gameplay, the Royal Canadian Air Force Game Force (joined by streamers Natarsha and Smixie) bested a talented slate of competitors—including defending champs from the U.K.’s Royal Air Force and previous winners from the U.S. Space Force—in Call of Duty: Warzone.

Ten military branch esports teams, augmented by top Call of Duty streamers, faced off in a mini battle royale format that forces players to compete to be the last ones standing in a continuously shrinking map. This year’s setting was the arid urban city of Al Mazrah.

Moves were made, shots were fired, and in the end, the team with the massive red maple leaves on their shoulders hoisted the trophy.

(Miss it? You can watch the entire thing here.)

We sat down on the competition floor with the six members of the RCAF—who were still visibly buzzing from their win—to find out how they pulled it off.

Let’s first go around the table and introduce yourselves: name, gamertag, rank, job, age, and hometown.

NC: I’m Nancy Coelho, founder and chairwoman of Game Force. I go by Astra. I’m a civilian and the vice president of partnerships for the Air Force. I’m from Ottawa.

AC: I’m Alex Clark. I go by Rook. I’m a Corporal and avionics technician. I’m 30 and from Woodstock, Ontario.

RM: I’m Ryan Mezei. My gamertag is GetPicked. I’m an Aviator and firefighter. I’m 25 and from Brampton, Ontario. (Note: Mezei, the team’s captain, was also named MVP of the tournament, and took home a very large ring from Monster Energy.)

RI: My name is Roxanne Ibrahim. I go by MizzWhisky. I’m Second Lieutenant, infantry officer. I’m 28 years old and from Ottawa.

BJ: I’m Brendan Jatsura. My handle is Librim. I’m Corporal, infantry soldier, 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment. I’m also from Brampton.

JD: I am Julies Deslauriers, or ItzDlow. I’m Corporal, combat engineer. I’m 22 and from Québec City.

Thanks, everyone. What was this experience like for you?

RM: Amazing. We were all super excited for it. It was even better that we got to win it the first time.

BJ: It was a great experience. We appreciate the opportunity to see what happens when we can compete. We don't get to leave the country too much; we're usually doing training in our own country. It's an incredible privilege.

AC: It's a dream come true.

JD: I never thought that playing video games, I'd end up in L.A., winning a tournament.

What surprised you during the gameplay?

RM: After the first game, I was hyped when we won and dropped my controller on the floor and broke it. I had to borrow one from our friend Lucky Lou.

BJ: It's always about adjusting to the land—adapt and overcome. We managed pretty well. I didn't really notice the steamers too much, and this is their bread and butter—they’re the big players. That means we're on the same level.

RM: We were the big players out there.

What led you into military service?

RI: It started with video games. I've been playing my whole life. As a woman, it wasn't cool to play games when I was young. But it made me feel very accepted. I would play Call of Duty. I'd buy BB guns. My shooting was really good; my tactics were really good. I thought, where can I do this and also travel? I thought I'd go into a job like Call of Duty...which ended up being the military. It was perfect. I wanted to be an officer.

JD: My uncle was in the military as a combat engineer, and this is why I'm a combat engineer now.

BJ: I was 18. I wanted to do something hard—something bigger than myself. That's why I chose infantry. I wanted to do something not many people could do.

RM: I just wanted to be a firefighter and saw I could be a firefighter here.

AC: I watched Independence Day and fell in love with airplanes.

What led you into gaming?

RM: I played a lot of competitive sports growing up. With gaming, you could hang out without actually hanging out.

BJ: My whole life I loved competition and competitive shooters. I've always loved games like that.

AC: I had a Nintendo 64 in my basement and I never left.

JD: It's pretty basic; I've been gaming my whole life.

How does one go about joining a military esports team?

AC: You call me! I'm our tournament director and run all of our esports events. To get on one of our teams, you have to compete in a national tournament that we put on internally. Everyone here is a winner.

Did you practice together before competing at C.O.D.E. Bowl?

BJ: No. A couple of us knew each other before, but we just met each other in real life for the first time here at this tournament!

Incredible. OK, before I let you go celebrate, I have to ask you about the stories behind your gamertags.

NC (“Astra”): The Air Force is celebrating its 100 year anniversary and has been using its tag “ad astra”—to the stars. Mine is a tribute.

AC (“Rook”): Fifteen years ago, I asked for a random gaming tag from an Xbox Live gaming tag generator. It evolved from there.

RM (“GetPicked”): When we were gaming, anytime someone got sniped, we'd say, “Get picked!” It became my name because I said it all the time.

RI (“MizzWhisky”): I got injured and was on medical leave from the military. I liked whisky and made a handle related to that. As I started getting bigger on streams, a viewer told me he thought I was a mom because of the original format—which I’m not! So I changed it to this.

BJ (“Librim”): I just made it up when I was a kid. I've been running a handle since I was eight year old. It doesn't mean anything.

JD (“ItzDlow”): It's a version of a nickname for my last name.

The Call of Duty Endowment (the C.O.D.E. in C.O.D.E. Bowl) is a nonprofit organization committed to helping veterans find high-quality careers and transition to civilian life after military service. The Endowment has funded the placement of more than 125,000 veterans since its founding in 2009, generating more than $7 billion in economic value for vets and their families. All of the net proceeds from the tournament go toward placing more veterans into high-quality jobs.

Do you like playing Call of Duty?

Do you appreciate a good esports competition?

Do you relish watching military members compete against each other à la the annual Army-Navy game?

Then we’ve got just the thing for you. (So clear your calendar for Thursday October 5th at 1 p.m. Pacific / 4 p.m. Eastern, soldier.)

C.O.D.E. Bowl IV, the 2023 edition of the annual esports competition, is nearly upon us. This year’s event, which is presented by USAA, will feature military esports teams from the U.S., U.K., and—for the first time!—Canada alongside top Call of Duty streamers to compete for a coveted trophy and, naturally, bragging rights.

The Call of Duty Endowment (the C.O.D.E. in C.O.D.E. Bowl) is a nonprofit organization committed to helping veterans find high-quality careers and transition to civilian life after military service. The Endowment has funded the placement of more than 125,000 veterans since its founding in 2009, generating more than $7 billion in economic value for vets and their families. All of the net proceeds from the tournament go toward placing more veterans into high-quality jobs.

You can watch C.O.D.E. Bowl IV, presented by USAA, the following ways:

• YouTube

• Twitch

• Steam

• Facebook

Not yet convinced? Here are 10 reasons to tune in on Oct. 5.

1.) Ten military esports teams will compete against each other

This year’s roll call includes the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom; the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, and Space Force of the United States; and the Royal Canadian Air Force.

2.) Each military team is paired with a top Call of Duty streamers

Each team will feature two squads of four service members and two leading creators.

Among the creators scheduled to appear at this year’s tournament: IcemanIsaac, Smixie, Natarsha, M3rkdbyaSkirt, CitizenSnipes, BennyCentral, Emzy, Jaff, TacticalBrit, Spratt, and Braderz. Sweet.

3.) The Royal Air Force won last year’s tournament

And it was one hell of a comeback.

The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force started its championship run in last place before screaming to the front of the pack—past reigning champions Space Force Gaming—in back-to-back elimination matches.

The RAF subsequently took the CODE Bowl trophy on a tour of U.K. landmarks. Noice.

4.) There’s gonna be a first-ever MVP award

Thanks to sponsor Monster Energy, who will present it—along with a sweet MVP ring to wear. (My precious…)

5.) There are gonna be viewer awards, too

Shall we say…in-game awards, thanks to presenting sponsor USAA? (Our lips are otherwise sealed.) Tune in to be eligible to receive them.

6.) This year’s game is Call of Duty: Warzone

The popular free-to-play online multiplayer game features a mini “battle royale” mode that forces players to compete to be the last ones standing in a continuously shrinking map.

Warzone arrived in 2022 and is the successor to the original Call of Duty: Warzone released in 2020.

7.) This year’s battlefield is Al Mazrah

Al Mazrah is the arid capital city of the United Republic of Adal, located somewhere in the Caucasus in Western Asia. It’s a massive metropolitan area featuring dense urban centers, abandoned rural outskirts, and marshlands.

The location is a Call of Duty series fixture and is featured in Modern Warfare II and Warzone.

8.) This year’s event is in downtown Los Angeles

It’s a move westward after last year’s event on the U.S. East Coast.

C.O.D.E. Bowl III took place in Raleigh, North Carolina. The inaugural tournament, held in 2020, was fully remote due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

9.) The drama will be palpable

Army versus Navy? A beef as old as the United States.

Royal Navy versus RAF? You don’t even wanna touch that one.

In the meantime, the U.S. Space Force is trying to get back on top after failing to defend its crown in C.O.D.E. Bowl III. Meanwhile the U.S. Air Force is looking to see the returns on its rebuilding effort. (Hooah!)

10.) There are gonna be super secret game announcements

OK, we really aren’t allowed to talk about this one. You’ll just have to tune in at 1 p.m. Pacific / 4 p.m. Eastern to learn more.

For more

• Follow Call of Duty Endowment on Instagram

• Follow C.O.D.E. on Facebook

• Follow C.O.D.E. on Twitter

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sent the following email to employees:

Team,

I want to share an important update on our planned merger with Microsoft.

Today the UK regulatory authority, the CMA, issued a preliminary approval of our merger with Microsoft based on the solutions Microsoft presented in connection with its new merger application. This approval is critical to completing our merger.

The next step is for the CMA to gather third-party feedback, after which the CMA will reach a final decision.

As I said when we announced the deal, this transaction will help us accelerate our ambitions for the future of gaming and enable us to better serve our players. Microsoft recognizes the commitment to excellence and creative independence that has served us well for the last 30 years. I am confident that their resources, technology, and tools will provide us even greater opportunities to create even better games.

This is a significant milestone for the merger and a testament to our solutions-oriented work with regulators. I remain optimistic as we continue the journey toward completion and am very grateful to each of you for your dedication and focus throughout this process.

As the regulators continue their process, I will keep you updated on our progress towards our expected closing.

With gratitude,

Bobby

Previously

• The next step in the UK for the Microsoft deal (Aug 21, 2023)

• Deadline extended on the Microsoft deal (July 19, 2023)

• A federal court denied the FTC's request to block the Microsoft deal (July 11, 2023)

• We're ready to make our case for the Microsoft deal in federal court (June 12, 2023)

• Regulators in Europe approve the Microsoft deal (May 15, 2023)

• We’ll keep pressing our case for a Microsoft deal (April 26, 2023)

• A March update on the Microsoft deal (March 28, 2023)

• A February update on the Microsoft deal (February 8, 2023)

• A December update on the Microsoft deal (December 8, 2022)

• Defining the future: Announcing a merger with Microsoft (January 18, 2022)

From the very first issue, this newsletter was meant to be our love letter to millions of gamers around the globe. For 38 sends, we did just that, exploring stories at the intersection of gaming and life. Achievement unlocked, as they say.

Here are 10 of our favorites:

• Why we're so obsessed with hell in TV, music, movies, and games

• How to break into the world of voice acting for games

• Meet a real-life chess queen taking the Internet by storm

• Did you know Dwarf Metal was a thing? Neither did we

• Pickleball is America's hottest new game. We explore why

• Just what is a loremaster, exactly?

• How gaming helped this soldier reconnect with his son

• The rising trend of the 'lonely game'

• How Alodia Gosiengfiao turned cosplaying into a multimedia empire

• How Dungeons & Dragons became a tool for group therapy

(You can find the rest of our work here.)

We're so thankful you went on this journey with us. We made some (pretty awesome tbh) Monday mixtapes, enjoyed fleeting moments of meme, and went down enough wormholes to lose an entire week's worth of afternoons.

It's been an honor. From us to you: Troll the respawn, Jeremy.

—The Editors: Andrew Nusca, Eric Alt, Marques Edge, Tim Leong

P.S. We had one more story we’d like you to rea—er, listen to. It’s our first foray into audio storytelling: an aural history (get it?) of Hugo, otherwise known as Hugo the Troll, a call-in TV game show from the 1990s that was an innovative hit in more than 40 countries. We hope you enjoy it.

P.P.S. OK OK, here's one more wormhole, you rascals:

Millions of people across the world playing a phone game doesn’t sound too surprising.

But, what if it was 1990, before there was an app store or even smartphones?

That is the magic of Hugo the Troll, an inventive dial-in television show that was popular in more than 40 countries.

Press play to hear Christine Fennessy’s delightful tale of evil witches, dial tones, and technological innovation:

…wait, what?

OK, so the official start of autumn isn’t until September 23rd. But—as is annual tradition—Starbucks has kicked off the “sugar, spice, and everything nice" time of year with the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

(Nevermind the hottest summer in history. Good thing you can order an iced version.)

Believe it or not, the PSL is now 20 years old. Which, come to think of it, means we’ve been arguing over the appropriateness of hot coffee, sweaters, and plaid shirts in August for just as long.

What’s next, Christmas decorations in the summer? Umm yeah…that part. 🤦🏼‍♂️

—Marques Edge, Tim Leong, Eric Alt, Andrew Nusca

P.S. In Friday’s edition, we asked you: Which of the following is not a trick in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater? The answer is Taco stand.

Buffed/Nerfed

What’s up and down in the world rn.

Buffed: Seinfeld night. A minor league baseball team held its annual “Elaine Dancing Contest” paying tribute to the episode from the hit sitcom where she showcases her unique skills at an office party. Get out!

Nerfed: Destination wedding. A groom-to-be says his dog quite literally ate his passport days before the Boston couple’s wedding in Italy. We’re sure this excuse will not fly with customs.

Buffed: Game console relaunch. Atari is bringing back a well-known game console as the Atari 2600+. The upgraded system will support older cartridges and original joysticks and paddle controllers. Maybe they’ll update this commercial as well.

Nerfed: Mayo for life. Hellman’s Mayonnaise gives Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis a lifetime contract. The NFL rookie went viral last year when he replaced mayo for creamer into his coffee. New slogan: Every sandwich coffee wants Hellmann's?

Buffed: Netflix DVDs. As Netflix finally exits the rental-by-mail service (really!), the streaming giant says customers can keep their final batch of discs at no additional cost. Subscribers can also request up to 10 additional movies. Wave goodbye to the red envelope era. —ME

Cheat Code: Tidy your digital life with these organizer apps

Change your game.

Summer is coming to an end. For some that means back to school and for others that means time to shake off the lazy, warm weather malaise and refocus on work.

In both cases, some desktop tidying is in order.

Contributing writer Danny Gallagher looks into a few apps (both free and paid) that can help you organize, customize, and generally make your computer’s desktop look less like a digital trash heap.

Fall cleaning starts now.

Shameless plug: Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 5 is live

Fact: Hearthstone is the popular, free-to-play strategy card game from Blizzard.

Fact: Battlegrounds is the Hearthstone game mode where eight players face off in 1v1 rounds until only one is standing.

Fact: Season 5 of Battlegrounds is now live, and it’s chock full o’ goodness.

For example, it introduces Anomalies, new custom game rules that affect your entire lobby and shape the course of the game from the outset, making each one play out differently.

It also introduces Tier 7 minions—yes, reader, that means they’re more powerful than Tier 6 minions—for all players in games when the Secrets of Norgannon Anomaly is active.

And hey, did we mention the stormy new hero, Thorim?

Join us in the Tavern for more details.

A brief history of fake video games to appear in ‘The Simpsons’

Let’s go back.

Over 750 episodes (and counting), The Simpsons has turned its satirical eye to everything including war, religion, race, politics…and video games.

Contributing writer Reggie Wade breaks down the best fictional games to appear in Springfield.

Don’t have a cow, the list is right here.

Your moment of meme

Mixtape Monday

What are we listening to lately? Glad you asked.

Here we go:

Parcels, "Tieduprightnow." A perfect way to start the week. The band describes their music as a blend between electro-pop and disco-soul and their first single brings all those elements together. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Zach Churchill, Activision)

AnnenMayKantereit, "Toxic." The German band also known as AMK, is known for publishing cover songs in English and here is a perfect example bringing a different flavor to this Britney Spears classic. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Andrew Snell, Activision)

L7, "Pretend We're Dead." The all-female rock band brings the essence of the early 90s. The song was also featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Rock Band 2. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Grae Ashman, Blizzard)

UMI, "happy im." The soulful song from the Seattle-born musician was her first single released earlier this year following her debut album. It was written to remind herself "to think less, love more." Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Aninditya Kusumah, Activision)

Larry June, "Watering My Plants." Bringing back that San Francisco Bay Area funk. The Ringer once wrote about June’s craft "If E-40 is rap's model of independence, June is hip-hop's Jack LaLanne.” Anything is possible. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Calvin Hatcher, Activision)

Wormhole

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About us

The Edit is a thrice-weekly newsletter exploring the intersection of gaming and life. Our love letter to millions of gamers around the globe, it is written and published by the Activision Blizzard King global editorial team.

It’s back-to-school time for students and end-of-summer-refocus time for the working world, which means you should probably start getting organized.

One of the most neglected areas is one you can’t actually touch: your digital life. It may seem easier to putter around your home organizing papers and trinkets, but that doesn’t mean your desktop or laptop computer deserves to be a big messy-mess.

C’mon, let’s be real: Underneath this very story lies a cluttered desktop or home screen of windows, files, tabs, or apps you haven’t opened or used in months.

The following paid and free applications can help get your system in shape for a new season. Let’s get into it.

Organize the chaos

Fences (PC, paid with annual subscription)

If your desktop looks a bit like someone swallowed 10,000 mahjong tiles and then sneezed them out, you need to tackle this before anything else.

Stardock Software has a whole host of programs and apps that can alter your desktop and file organization but Fences stands out for us.

Fences is a file organizer that essentially lets you corral files together (or “fence” them in) so that relevant files, folders, and icons can be neatly grouped and more easily accessed. Fences is also fully customizable so you can choose the color of the groupings and label each “fence” so you always know what you have and where you have it. You can even choose the font for them so you don’t have to look at the same boring desktop day in and day out.

Although usage varies, in general Fences isn’t a tremendous energy drain on your CPU either—just be wary of overloading with too many groupings as some users have experienced performance slowdown (and besides, if you replace a file clutter with Fences clutter, are you really solving your problem?)

Work on your toolbar hygiene

RocketDock (PC, free)

One thing PC users tend to envy (or miss) about the Mac is the clean app toolbar.

If you’ve recently switched from Mac to PC and miss that old taskbar for keeping your go-to apps organized, RocketDock is a very useful way to clone this feature, and reduce app icon clutter.

It’s really that simple—RocketDock works just like the traditional Apple taskbar but for PC users. You can put it on any side of the screen and it moves and acts just the Apple version. It also doesn’t supersede the Windows taskbar if you still need it so you can organize your apps and computer access features on both and use them at the same time.

MultiDock (Mac, paid)

We haven’t forgotten about Apple users. If your only complaint about the Mac toolbar is that there’s only one, then MultiDock is a unique way to expand the dock experience.

Just like the name suggests, it lets you put several taskbar docs on the desktop so you can keep your files in one, your school apps in another, and your game apps in one more (so you’re not tempted to”accidentally” launch into a game when you should be finishing your work).

There are also no limits on the number of panels you can put on your desktop and every icon and animation is customizable to meet your pickiest needs.

Make it all look pretty

Rainmeter (PC, free)

The best part of this comprehensive desktop customization and organization program is that it’s free and has pretty expansive customization options.

Rainmeter allows you to take all the stuff you wish you had handy on desktop and arrange, organize, and re-skin it to make it more accessible (so you don’t have to rely on the Windows “Start” button to bring up your most used apps—it doesn’t always call up what you’re looking for when you need it). If you’re the type who hates wearing a watch but still needs to keep track of the time when you’re playing online so you don’t miss roll call or a meeting, you can keep your synced calendar right on top to help you map out your day.

You organize your desktop by downloading “skins” from the app’s community archive at Visualskins.com or program and design one of your own. There’s just about something for every taste from “simple, clean” designs to special Fallout 4 skins.

Rainmeter will use about 35 MB of RAM, or roughly 5% of your CPU, which is not monstrous, but it’s something to keep in mind as you load up on apps and files.

Wallpaper Engine (PC, paid)

Ok, this isn’t really an organization optimizer, but if you’re tired of the same old boring desktop image staring back at you (as nice as those mountains and trees are), Wallpaper Engine can be one way to help.

This app turns your desktop into a kinetic, vibrant display that runs videos and animations on your computer’s main hub. You can even take still images and add effects to them like static, glitches and even flames in the wallpaper customizer.

However, this program is a bit of a beast when it comes to your CPU’s resources. Wallpaper Engine uses 1024 MB/1 GB of RAM, and there have been those who report seeing other apps and programs slow down when the kinetic displays are running. It’s something to keep in mind as you weight aesthetics vs. efficiency.