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The Hayne Plane in training for space combat at Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Academy

The Hayne Plane in training for space combat at Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Academy

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare launches November 4, 2016

2 November, 2016 – Ahead of the launch of Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare on 4 November, avid Call of Duty® fan and NRL superstar, Jarryd Hayne attended a special training session at the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Academy, hosted by the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS). Hayne was joined by Australia’s leading professional Call of Duty esports team, Mindfreak; together they were pushed to the limit through a series of physical and mental challenges at the national high performance center and Olympic training facility.

The Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Academy was developed to enhance the skills of local esports professionals. Participants endured a series of intense trials:

  • The performance stressor test used a light board to measure the participants’ reaction times and hand-eye co-ordination, an exercise that was repeated after a physical drill, to demonstrate the effects of fatigue.
  • To combat the negative impact of stress, participants were placed in an extreme stress environment underwater, allowing NSWIS’s performance psychologist to teach them stress management strategies to quieten the mind and optimise performance.
  • In the Mindroom they were taught how to improve attentional skills by tracking multiple moving objects in a 3D field.

In a first for the franchise, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare introduces an all-new story set beyond Earth’s atmosphere. To further help Hayne with his training before he plays the game, he recently visited the Spaceflight Academy, Australia’s first astronaut test center, where he took part in a one-of-a-kind space training simulation. Jarryd strapped himself in to the Multi-Axis Trainer (MAT), which simulated the disorientation that you would feel during a tumble spin on reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, as well as scaling a Zero-G Gravity Wall, which emulates the feeling of weightlessness in space and gameplay featured in Infinite Warfare.

Video content of Jarryd Hayne in action can be downloaded here.

Hayne said, “It was unreal to witness the amount of preparation that is needed to go into space at the Spaceflight Academy and to see how my own sports training applies within the esports environment at NSWIS. The highlight was definitely hanging out with Australia’s best Call of Duty players and picking their brains on the game to improve mine. I’m ready and looking forward to the launch of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare on November 4.”

Activision’s Call of Duty franchise is a major player in the esports world, with the Call of Duty World League in full swing and Call of Duty World League Championship taking place annually.

Mindfreak’s team captain, Mitchell Mader said, “When we compete in the Call of Duty World League Championship, we come head-to-head with fierce international teams who we play for up to twelve hours at a time.  The skills we learnt at the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Academy will be extremely beneficial in these moments of high pressure.”

“Mindfreak team is really excited about the release of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which puts us back on a level playing field as all professional teams worldwide learn the intricacies of the new game.”

Dr. Mike Martin, Lead Performance Psychologist, NSWIS said, “With any elite level performance, comes the need for top tier training and preparation, no matter the discipline. Our team of leading experts in physiology, psychology and high performance developed a training program that targeted tactical awareness, superior mental performance under pressure and improved decision making and targeting accuracy. We look forward to seeing how MindFreak benefit from what we’ve taught them. Hopefully it gives them a great start heading into major competitions.”

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will be available for PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and PC on Steam starting November 4th.

Images from the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Academy can be downloaded here.

The Official Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare Live Action Trailer – “Screw It, Let’s Go To Space” can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIE4CggSB2E

About Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Award-winning studio Infinity Ward breaks new ground in storytelling, by exploring the weight of leadership and the responsibilities that come with it in an emotional, character-driven narrative. Players are thrust into wartime leadership as Captain Reyes, a Tier 1 Special Operations soldier, who takes the helm of the Retribution, one of Earth’s last remaining warships. In a time of unthinkable hardships, Reyes must lead the remnants of coalition forces against a relentless enemy in a war that stretches to new terrains across the vast expanse of our solar system beyond Earth.

Infinite Warfare introduces new weaponry, new player abilities and stunning new settings to the Call of Duty franchise. In addition to a riveting single player campaign, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will also deliver a robust multiplayer mode, and a unique cooperative zombies experience.

For the latest intel, check out: www.callofduty.com, www.youtube.com/callofduty or follow @CallofDuty and @InfinityWard on TwitterInstagram and FacebookCall of Duty: Infinite Warfare is scheduled for release November 4th on PlayStation® 4 system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PC, rated MA15+ for Mature (Blood, Intense Violence, Strong Language).

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company.  More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com or by following @Activision.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the expected Call of Duty:  Infinite Warfare beta release dates are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.