--- title: "The Royal Air Force just beat British, American branches at ‘Call of Duty’" description: "The RAF beat out other British, American military branches in the annual esports tournament. It's the first time a British team won." date: "2022-12-17" modified: "2022-12-17" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/royal-air-force-call-of-duty/" categories: - "Culture" --- # The Royal Air Force just beat British, American branches at ‘Call of Duty’ ![]() *The Royal Air Force's esports team celebrates after winning the tournament. (Photo via the Call of Duty Endowment)* The Royal Air Force can claim bragging rights in video games for the next year. The RAF’s esports team came from behind to win the Call of Duty Endowment’s third annual tournament. The British servicemembers defeated seven other teams for the prize. C.O.D.E. Bowl III, as the event was called, pit American and British military esports teams against each other in Raleigh, North Carolina. The tournament featured esports teams from the U.S. Army, Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force along with the United Kingdom’s Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. As with past years, the tournament matched each team of active-duty servicemembers with two civilian captains. Teams faced off in the recently released *Call of Duty Warzone 2.0*, with the Royal Air Force coming from a poor start to claim first place and the trophy. The championship was previously won by the U.S. Space Force, which [sent its trophy into space]() to celebrate. [**Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today**]()**. Get the latest military news, entertainment, and gear in your inbox daily.** The Call of Duty Endowment, a nonprofit created by Activision Blizzard’s CEO, helps place British and American veterans in jobs. So far it has placed more than 110,000 veterans into work. The C.O.D.E. Bowl III event came less than a month after internal U.S. Army documents were released showing how the Army tried to partner with *Call of Duty* publisher Activision Blizzard for marketing and recruitment. Last year the Army [backed out]() of a multi-million dollar advertising deal, including an expensive sponsorship agreement for a *Call of Duty* tournament, following lawsuits against Activision Blizzard over discrimination and sexual harassment at the company. According to an internal email from the Army’s Deputy Chief Marketing Officer, the decision was done in order to protect the Army’s “brand.” On a wider level, militaries have been turning to esports as a tool for outreach and recruiting, due to the popularity of video games among younger people. For the American military, that goes beyond the sponsorship efforts and into streaming and esports from its own in-house teams. That’s been hit or miss in the past — there have been issues with racist usernames and blocking people who [bring up war crimes]() — but branches [such as the Navy]() are putting more resources into esports and making sure their teams can win tournaments like C.O.D.E. Bowl. Although some officials have criticized gaming as part of a sedentary lifestyle that impacts Generation Z’s physical fitness levels, research has shown that gaming can improve cognitive control. The military esports teams have been active online and in tournaments. It held its own official esports tournament in May as part of FORCECON22, where the [U.S. Air Force won]() out over the Army. ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **Air National Guard colonel** [**suspended following investigation**]() - **The Navy will now enlist recruits who** [**score 10 on their ASVAB**]() - **The Army has** [**selected the V-280 Valor**]() **to replace its Black Hawk fleet** - **Five soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division** [**arrested for rape**]() - [**Old Air Force A-10 Warthog**]() **learns new trick: Covering fire for B-1B bombers** **Want to write for Task & Purpose?**[ **Click here**]()**. Or check out the latest stories on**[ **our homepage.**]() ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]()