COD NEXT Highlights: From 1 on Twitch to a World Record — John Higgins Has the Scoop

Since its initial release in October 2003, “Call of Duty” (COD) has been one of the world’s most popular first-person shooter (FPS) games. It has remained the best-selling FPS franchise globally year after year, with 400 million games sold by 2021. COD is so wildly popular among gamers that content creators, video game influencers, athletes, musicians, and artists are now coming together for an exclusive sneak peek of the newest COD game during an event called COD NEXT.

John Higgins, CEO and founder of OS Studios, a gamer-focused experiential marketing agency, has been on the ground floor of the creation and execution of COD NEXT. Along with help from partners such as GPJ, their sister agency, the team at OS Studios has created the ultimate hype machine for the newest COD release.

“We are creating an immersive environment for ‘Call of Duty’ partners, development teams, and the studio behind the title — from the main broadcast to 250 individual creator experiences,” explains Higgins.

This year’s release, “COD: Black Ops 6,” was welcomed with much fanfare by these VIPs who took part in COD NEXT —- and even broke some records.

1 on Twitch and Then Some

The goal of the OS Studios team was to build excitement for their client, Activision, and the newest iteration of their world-famous game. “They make world-class games,” says Higgins, “but we have to take a moment to recognize them as one of the best in the business in marketing, storytelling, and creative strategy. Their campaigns could rival those of any Hollywood studios any day.”

It was OS Studio’s job to harness that creative energy and create an event around it. To say that their efforts were successful would be an understatement.

“We didn’t just top Twitch,” Higgins says. “We hit number one on most major streaming platforms, trended on X, and dominated the top 200 streamers’ social timelines — it was madness!”

In addition to garnering the world’s attention, the event also set a rather quirky Guinness World Record. “Activision achieved the ‘largest marionette of a video game character’ with ‘Abby,’ the nickname given to The Abomination from ‘Black Ops,’” Higgins remarks.

This kind of immersive, incredibly engaging, award-winning event comes naturally to Higgins and the team at OS Studios. They pride themselves on being “culture vultures” and creating exactly what the next generation of fans is clamouring for — because they are the next generation of fans.

“We are audience experts,” explains Higgins. “Not just industry experts.”

Not just an Event, but a Moment

For OS Studios, COD NEXT and its double-billing partner, the “Call of Duty” Endowment (CODE) Bowl, is something they feel privileged to be involved in. CODE Bowl brings together top military esports athletes from the United States and allied forces such as Canada and the UK to compete in “Call of Duty.”

“It’s an impactful event,” Higgins notes. “It reminds us of the incredible work the ‘Call of Duty’ Endowment Fund does to help veterans find jobs and reintegrate into society.”

For Higgins and his team, COD NEXT is an opportunity to create a moment that makes the world stop and listen. “When Activision launches a ‘Call of Duty,’ the whole world takes notice,” says Higgins. For OS Studios’ part, they want that launch to be not just a moment but a movement. They want to ensure that the COD NEXT event doesn’t just trend on X but takes over the attention of the internet on a global scale. “Every year, Activision is raising the bar with their games. We want to match that with the hype we help them bring to the conversation, and the numbers speak for themselves,” he says.

On Activision’s side, COD NEXT and CODE BOWL are led by trailblazing experiential storytellers such as Kecia Christiansen, Activision’s Director of Experiential Marketing, and Helene Imperiale, Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility & “Call of Duty” Endowment Marketing, whom Higgins credits for the reason this entire event happens each year. “They are both complete rockstars I’m lucky enough to work for and laugh with,” he says.

Telling The Story

Higgins has been focused on creative storytelling in marketing and events since his first company, Mayhem, made its mark on the theatre scene. Recognizing that he could build something on a much larger scale, Higgins moved up to creating experiential events and broadcasts for the gaming industry, which has taken over the cultural imagination in the past few decades.

Whether helping companies launch new games or helping brands connect with Gen Z, Higgins has his finger on the pulse of new movements in the gaming industry. It’s why gaming juggernauts like Activision turn to OS Studios to help them bring the latest “COD” to the masses.

The last COD NEXT event was a rousing success, with hundreds of millions of views and impressions. According to Higgins, it was all in a day’s work. “We helped create the most-watched ‘COD’ event in history,” he concludes.

Ankita Sharma

Ankita is the Senior SEO Analyst as well as Content Marketing enthusiast at The Next Tech. She uses her experience to guide the team and follow best practices in marketing and advertising space. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Science (Mathematics). She’s taken quite a few online certificate courses in digital marketing and pursuing more.

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