Tested by Activision, owned by Microsoft

Did you know there's a new Call of Duty game coming out this week?

If not, Microsoft would probably pay to find out where you've been hiding, because the tech giant has spent a marketing budget comparable to any “major motion picture blockbuster coming out this year,” according to Tyler Bahl, the chief marketing officer at “Call of Duty” studio Activision to put “Black Ops 6” on every consumer's radar, from landing People Magazine's iconic “Sexiest Man Alive” cover to infiltrating “Monday Night.” Football”.

The release of “Black Ops 6” marks the release of the first mainline “Call of Duty” game since Microsoft completed its $76 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard in October 2023, the largest video game acquisition ever If Microsoft As the Game Pass title goes live for Xbox customers on Friday, it underscores the importance of its subscription service to its overall revenue strategy and has great confidence in the ability of Activision's biggest franchise to drive the product forward.

Black Ops 6 from Activision's Treyarch, which will be available on Xbox, PlayStation and PC, is set in an alternate history of 1991 and follows renegade agents Troy Marshall and Frank Woods as they assemble a team of agents to… to hunt down the mysterious Pantheon group that has infiltrated the CIA and is targeting outsiders as traitors to the United States. The game also reintroduces the fan-favorite Round-Based Zombies mode to the franchise.

At a time when new AAA games are competing for gamers' attention with thousands of mobile titles, MMORPGs and the never-ending “Fortnite,” Bahl would of course be happy if you watch “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6” on Day buy 1, but settle for at least knowing there is a Black Ops 6.

“Of course we want to generate revenue, but I think overall it's just about drawing attention to the new game,” Bahl said Diversity. “That's always the focus and what makes Black Ops 6 the No. 1 game this fall.” Overall, I just want people to like the campaign and the work we're doing as a marketing group. I think some of the work is really innovative. Not only do we do one spot, but the replacement shows up in all these weird and different places, which are really exciting. That's what excites me about him appearing on Monday Night Football and doing something with Scott Van Pelt. And all of you, from your little brother to your grandparent, say, “I saw a Black Ops 6 commercial on Monday Night Football where he was chasing Scott Van Pelt with a football machine.” Of course there are hard standards , but the litmus test for me is when we entered the cultural zeitgeist. Then we see true success.”

This replacement character that Bahl is referring to is a character steeped in Black Ops marketing lore that fans sorely missed when he didn't take part in the Black Ops Cold War campaign in 2020. Where the replacement was located , Bahl and his team decided that they needed to “exploit” this replacement retreat as much as possible by placing him on billboards, television shows, live events, and any other place where they supposedly had something in front of “Black “Ops 6” could be canceled – including an NFL quarterback.

“We came across that there was a statistic about Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray over the last few years where basically someone figured out that our experience on a weekend when 'Call of Duty' gives double XP , he performs worse on the field,” Bahl said. “Someone did the analysis; It was very scientific and had the diagrams and everything. And so we went and hired him and said, “Why don't we get together and make a story out of it?” Admit that you're a great quarterback, but also that you're a “Call of Duty.” -Players are.” And that's what he did. And when we started the Replacer campaign, the community started saying, “You should replace Kyler Murray.” They should replace Kyler Murray. ‘You should replace Kyler Murray.’ And then all of a sudden we released the Kyler Murray trailer.”

The exchange hasn't stopped in the weeks since that trailer was released, with the replacement showing up at a Los Angeles Rams football game this weekend to do a few jobs around the stadium, including being the on-field mascot.

As Bahl and his team at Activision cross the finish line for Black Ops 6, they are not only actively promoting post-launch updates, DLCs and patches, but also the campaign for the next Call of Duty. ” game. It's a situation largely unique to the gaming sector of the entertainment industry, and perhaps even more unique to “Call of Duty,” which has strived to release a new title every year since the franchise's debut in 2003, and his free-to-play battle royale game “Call of Duty: Warzone” is currently in its sixth season.

“There would be a sequel to a movie and it would take years to develop,” Bahl said. “You can extend a TV season, but it's still six months to a year before it starts. And we've been developing content for years in advance and planning for the future. It’s definitely something that makes the work a little more stressful in the sense that you’re always there, always planning the next big integration.”

Meanwhile, Activision is trying to be careful not to overload you with “Call of Duty,” a pretty easy problem when a franchise is working overtime to get your attention.

“We definitely try to spread out the timing of different elements,” Bahl said. “But I'll be honest: when we look at the data and see if we're putting out too much content at any given time, I think the consumer is expecting more and more from us. That's always the challenge, figuring out exactly how much to donate and not posting too much content at once. But at the same time you can see it in the chat when they are always looking for something new and all the comments and engagement.”

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