The deeper military purpose behind Call of Duty's Code Bowl Esports tournament
The US Army are the 2024 Code Bowl champions, having beaten the second-placed Royal Air Force in the Call of Duty-themed Esports tournament.
The annual event tests the concentration, communication, collaboration and combat skills of both military and civilian players.
Asides from the clear requirement for top video game skills and smarts, the annual competition has a deeper military purpose.
Code Bowl raises money for the Call of Duty Endowment Fund, which helps veterans to be placed in high-quality jobs.
Roxanne Ibrahim, who last year was a second lieutenant in the then-victorious Royal Canadian Air Force team, said post-service support like this is crucial.
She told BFBS: "That support, I think, is amazing. I think the Endowment [Fund] is absolutely incredible and I think that it's so important. I think military members are sometimes forgotten and I think they're sometimes kind of lost."
SAS: Who Dares Wins' Jason Fox, who was at the event to give his support to personnel, also gave BFBS his thoughts.
"It's awesome, especially now with it being UK and US. It means the reach is bigger and it can only be a bigger, better thing for people that are out there maybe struggling," he said.
The skills and experience of personnel and veterans are utilised to design the game.
Helene Imperiale, senior director for the Call of Duty Endowment Fund marketing at Activision said: "In the Endowment team specifically, we have two veterans who really make sure everything that the Endowment does, whether it's in game or in comms, or anywhere in content, to make sure it really is realistic, that it really sticks to the truth and that we're representing the military community in the best way possible."
Code Bowl 2024 brings to an end another cycle of the tournament and the organisers hope it will grow even bigger next year.
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