Santa Monica, U.S.A. — With little more than two weeks to go for one of the most anticipated entertainment launches in history, Activision Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, kicks things into high gear with the release of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops II live-action trailer helmed by visionary director Guy Ritchie and featuring Robert Downey Jr. The explosive :60 second high-octane piece, titled “Surprise,” was unveiled on network television in the U.S. on Monday Night Football and will rollout worldwide across high-profile telecasts including elite European football matches.

Reflecting the global phenomenon that is Call of Duty, a franchise which appeals to both mass and enthusiast audiences, several additional celebrity cameos round out the cast. Omar Sy, one of France’s top comedic actors, and a huge Call of Duty fan in his own right, makes an appearance, and core gaming fans will recognize Internet phenoms FPSRussia as well as iJustine.

To support the launch blitz, Activision teamed up with Bad Robot Interactive to release a Call of Dutytakeover to Bad Robot’s mega-hit Action Movie FX app, which is a free download available now on iPhone and iPad. The app enables fans to film real world environments with their phones, only to bring mayhem to them using Call of Duty: Black Ops II near-future weaponry. Additionally, fans can use the scan function in the app, to unlock and unleash exclusive new weapons for use in the app from the upcoming game.

“With Call of Duty we are re-writing the rule-book of how games are marketed. This is more than a product launch, it’s become a cultural event. And, what Treyarch has created this year with Call of Duty: Black Ops II is nothing short of the most innovative Call of Duty title yet,” said Tim Ellis, CMO, Activision Publishing. “So our mission is to meet this creativity with the most dynamic and far-reaching launch campaign we’ve ever done. Everything we do is geared toward reaching our fans – the best community in the world – to celebrate with them the launch this November 13.”

This year, more than 15,000 retail outlets worldwide are scheduled to open their doors at midnight on Tuesday, November 13. Additionally, Activision will support the game through a global outdoor advertising campaign that will run in eight cities and across more than 450 media placements around the world with support from the media agencies OMD and MEC, respectively.

Promotional partners in North America include Xbox 360 and LG, as well as retail partners Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Wal-Mart. Throughout the campaign, Activision has worked with LA /Amsterdam based agency 72andSunny on overall creative direction and The Ant Farm on a series of heart-pounding gameplay trailers that have been viewed in the millions.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches worldwide on November 13, 2012, on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC. The title is also expected to be released in North America on November 18, 2012, for the new Wii U game system from Nintendo.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is rated “M” (Mature – Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs – content suitable for persons ages 18 and older) by the ESRB.

More information on Call of Duty: Black Ops II can be found at http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2 or on www.facebook.com/codblackops. Fans can also follow @Treyarch on Twitter.

Watch the official trailer below:

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Activision Publishing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, announced recently that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 crossed the $1 billion mark in sales since its launch on November 8, 2011, according to Charttrack and retail customer sell-through information.

Highlighting the trend of interactive entertainment gaining a greater hold of audiences worldwide, the game achieved this milestone in just 16 days, eclipsing the record set in 2009 by the feature film “Avatar,” which reached the $1 billion milestone in 17 days.

While 2011 box office revenue is on the decline – down 4 percent this year at $9.4 billion, compared with $9.8 billion in 2010 — the number of people purchasing and participating in gaming is on the rise, with no sign of slowing_. With more than 30 million gamers, the Call of Duty community now exceeds the combined populations of the cities of New York, London, Tokyo, Paris and Madrid.

“Engagement of our Call of Duty audience continues to rise around the world” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. ”Call of Duty as an entertainment franchise has made an indelible mark on popular culture and its broad and continued success is further validation that audiences increasingly value interactive experiences over passive experiences.”

Call of Duty is now amongst that rarified group of sustained franchises like “Star Wars”, “Harry Potter”, “Lord of the Rings” and the National Football League (NFL) that attract or engage tens of millions of people every year or every new release.

Our Call of Duty Elite is one of the fastest growing online services ever with more than six million players registered since its launch November 8, 2011 and over one million premium subscriptions sold to date. By comparison, the premium subscription services of Netflix, Hulu Plus, Sirius XM and Xbox LIVE, did not reach one million paid subscribers until almost one year after launch.

“Call of Duty has become that rare entertainment franchise that transcends its own genre. Core gamers love it, as our stellar reviews show. But every year, new people are drawn into Call of Duty,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. ”And while the franchise continues to set records, our fans still seem to want more, demonstrated by our record setting start on Call of Duty Elite.

We are committed to helping everyone connect, compete and improve their game, Call of Duty style.”

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