The US military has spent millions of dollars sponsoring a wide range of tournaments with high-profile Call of Duty players (streamers) and Twitch events over the past year to reach a Gen-Z audience.
In particular, the goal was to reach out to women, blacks and Hispanics, according to internal Army documents that Motherboard published.
The documents provide much more picture about the Army's goals and intentions behind its planned partnerships with Call of Duty and other massive entertainment franchises.
“Audience: Gen-Z Prospects (A18-24),” reads one section of the documents. “Focus on reaching Black and Hispanic women.”
The Motherboard managed to obtain the documents through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
A table included in the documents lists the funds the Army planned to spend on various platforms, events and streamers.
At the top, there's Twitch and the HBCU [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] Showdown.
Previous seasons of this esports league have had players compete in Madden and NBA games.
The Army planned to spend $1 million to sponsor the event. The documents show that the US military considers the Gaming and Call of Duty in particular, as a very useful recruiting tool.
