The Call of Duty Endowment has partnered with U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter to create an in-game content bundle and an accompanying documentary series released alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The collaboration includes the purchasable C.O.D.E. Valor Pack a $20 downloadable pack whose proceeds support veteran employment programs through the Endowment.
The project is also documented in Forged in Valor a three-part video series that explores Carpenter’s military service, the moment that earned him the Medal of Honor and his long recovery. Episode 1, titled The Man Behind the Medal is already available and traces his path to service and the event that defined his military legacy.
How Carpenter’s story is represented in the game
The C.O.D.E. Valor Pack introduces a playable operator modeled on Kyle Carpenter, using a scanned likeness and in-game items designed in collaboration with him to reflect authentic details from his service. The pack includes character cosmetics, a melee blueprint, weapon customization and other items intended to honor his experience and resilience rather than create a fictionalized tribute.
Notable cosmetic touches: Carpenter’s virtual M4 rifle displays his initials on the magazine; a weapon charm depicts a small grenade with the phrase “nice try”; and a uniform patch reads “don’t hide your scars.” The melee blueprint personalizes a combat knife engraved with Carpenter’s rank and name and stamped with his mantra, “worth fighting for.” These design choices were guided by photos and artifacts from his deployment and recovery period to ensure fidelity to his story.
From combat to recovery: the factual timeline
Carpenter earned the Medal of Honor for actions on Nov. 21, 2010 in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan. During a rooftop security assignment, an insurgent-thrown grenade landed near Carpenter and a fellow Marine, Lance Cpl. Nick Eufrazio. Carpenter moved to cover the device, absorbing the explosion and saving his comrade. He survived but sustained catastrophic injuries: he was unconscious for weeks, lost an eye and most of his teeth, and endured a lengthy regimen of surgeries and rehabilitation. The Medal of Honor was presented to him by President Barack Obama on June 19, 2014.
The documentary series focuses on that sequence of events and the sustained efforts that followed: physical reconstruction, psychological rehabilitation and the choices that shaped his post-service life. The footage and interviews emphasize the human story behind the medal rather than dramatizing battlefield action.
The Call of Duty Endowment and the fundraising model
The partnership links a commercial game release to veteran employment work through the Call of Duty Endowment a nonprofit founded in 2009 that identifies and funds high-performing organizations that place veterans into civilian careers. The Endowment’s model funnels proceeds from targeted in-game items and related campaigns into programs that provide resume assistanceinterview coaching skills training and employer placement.
Performance metrics reported for the Endowment include more than 169,000 veterans placed into jobs, with average starting salaries exceeding $76,000 and a 12-month retention rate of 83% based on the Endowment’s 2025 annual summary. To maximize donor impact, the game publisher covers the Endowment’s operating costs so that contributions from purchases go directly to job-placement programs.
Availability and platforms
The C.O.D.E. Valor Pack launches simultaneously with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on Oct. 23. The digital operator and associated cosmetics will be available across current platforms supported by the title, including PlayStation 5Xbox Series X|SPC and Nintendo Switch 2. The developers say regional unlocks follow local midnight release conventions.
Beyond the in-game content, Forged in Valor offers players and general audiences a way to engage with the real story that inspired the pack. The first installment, The Man Behind the Medal is available now, with two further episodes scheduled to explore the creative process behind the pack and Carpenter’s journey from injury to advocacy.
By combining a commercial in-game purchase with a documentary series and established veteran-support infrastructure, the collaboration aims to raise funds while introducing players to the personal history of a decorated Marine, emphasizing recovery, service and employment outcomes for veterans.
