Thrudark founders Louis Tinsley and Anthony ‘Staz’ Stazicker, alongside former Special Forces soldier Jason ‘Foxy’ Fox’ at ‘Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6’ press junket. CREDIT: Activision
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 has confirmed a UK Special Forces-approved operator skin will be available to purchase as part of The Endeavour: Tracer Pack when the game launches later this week.
A collaboration with outdoor apparel brand ThruDark, which was set up by former Special Forces soldiers Louis Tinsley and Anthony ‘Staz’ Stazicker, The Endeavour: Tracer Pack includes the first ever British Call Of Duty Endowment operator skin, the SC1, alongside an insignia weapon charm and the “feeling froggy” weapon sticker. It also features the Ghostly Guile and Seaworthy Strength animated weapon blueprint.
“It was a real honour and honestly a bit humbling to work with such a huge game like Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6,” Staz told recently. The pair worked with the game to make the pack as realistic as possible, from the scratchy woolly jumper that Special Forces operators wear during selection to the black jungle boots which have become synonymous with the military organisation. “There are also little easter eggs, like just above the magazine housing is our saying ‘Love many, trust few and always paddle your own canoe’.”
NME
“Gamers are hardcore and we knew Call Of Duty:Black Ops 6 wanted a level of authenticity and credibility, so a lot of thought, effort and energy has gone into this collaboration,” he added. “It’s not a Nicki Minaj skin.”
100 per cent of the profits from the pack will go towards The Endowment Fund. Established in 2009, the Call Of Duty charity organisation has helped over 130k military veterans find meaningful employment after leaving the service. Over 4,000 of those have been from the UK.
“Leaving the military and finding a new purpose is such a difficult space to manage,” explained Tinsley. “There’s such camaraderie to being in the military and by removing yourself from that, you do kinda lose your own sense of identity. Helping veterans find meaningful employment is so important in helping them transition to regular life.”
The sense of community Call Of Duty inspires is another way to help veterans, says Staz. “It’s a good way for people to talk, who perhaps wouldn’t ordinarily reach out to somebody through a text or a phone call.”
According to Tinsley, developers do a “really good job” of making Call Of Duty:Black Ops 6 as realistic as possible, especially with the new Omnimovement system. “It’s heavily dramatised in some instances but the speed and aggression that you need to be a Special Forces operator comes through. It’s really impressive.”
“The things you need to be good at in Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 are the same things you need to be good at, to do the jobs we did,” added former Special Forces soldier and SAS: Who Dares Wins presenter Jason ‘Foxy’ Fox. “Ignoring the physical stuff, because I know most people are playing this sitting down, but movement, awareness, communication and being able to work as part of the team, they’re the key things we needed to employ to survive in the field.”
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 is due to launch October 25 for PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
