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Did Jeffrey Epstein Push for Call of Duty Microtransactions? What the Emails Show

A 2013 email mentions virtual items as possible rewards for an educational game. It does not show Epstein pushing Call of Duty microtransactions.
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No. The released email exchange does not show Jeffrey Epstein pushing Activision to add microtransactions to Call of Duty. It concerns rewards for an educational-game idea, and reporting places Call of Duty: Black Ops II’s microtransactions before the exchange took place.

What the May 2013 email exchange says

The two-page record, identified as EFTA01762201, shows Pablos Holman writing to Jeffrey Epstein on May 3, 2013. Holman was replying to a message from Activision CEO Bobby Kotick that Epstein had forwarded. In the quoted message, Kotick proposed rewards for an educational-game prize concept: “X prize is a good idea but key is real world rewards. Learn to read: earn cell phone minutes, iphone credits, virtual items in games.” The released email record

Holman’s reply to Epstein included the line: “I’m all for indoctrinating kids into an economy. You gotta love how his =xample for "real world rewards" is "virtual items in games."” The message’s subject was educational games and possible rewards—not a proposal to sell Call of Duty items to players.

Who received Holman’s remark?

Holman sent that response to Epstein; Kotick was not copied. App Trigger’s correction clarifies that the exchange concerned educational video games, not commercial microtransactions, and retracts the implication that it showed Epstein influencing gaming microtransactions. App Trigger’s correction

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The correction also quotes Kotick’s attorney as saying in a February 12, 2026 letter: “In reality, Mr. Kotick never had any discussion with Epstein about Call of Duty or any Activision game or business.” That is the attorney’s statement, not an independently established fact in the email record.

Why the timing matters

The Daily Caller reported that Activision had rolled out its first Call of Duty microtransactions in Black Ops II before the May 3, 2013 email exchange. The Daily Caller’s timeline The email therefore cannot establish that this exchange initiated those purchases. Its text refers to virtual items as potential educational-game rewards; it does not mention Call of Duty, Activision’s commercial monetization plans, or an instruction from Epstein to add in-game purchases.

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Do not confuse the emails with Activision stock discussions

Separate coverage describes 2018 investment correspondence in which advisers discussed Activision stock ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Coverage of the 2018 investment correspondence That is a distinct investment story; it is not evidence that Epstein proposed or drove Call of Duty microtransactions.

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What the record establishes—and what it does not

  • Established by the email: Kotick’s forwarded message suggested virtual items among possible rewards for an educational-game idea, and Holman responded to Epstein with a critical remark about that suggestion. Email record
  • Not established by the email: that Epstein proposed, requested, or influenced commercial Call of Duty microtransactions.
  • Relevant context: secondary reporting places Black Ops II microtransactions before the exchange. The Daily Caller

The Department of Justice’s disclosure pages describe the document repository and caution that sensitive information may remain despite review and redaction efforts. The email is evidence of what its participants wrote; the disclosure itself is not a finding that every assertion in the correspondence was verified. DOJ disclosure information

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