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What the Epstein Emails Say About Call of Duty Microtransactions—and What They Don’t

The May 2013 Epstein–Kotick email chain mentions virtual rewards for learning to read. It does not show Epstein pushing Call of Duty microtransactions.
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No: the May 2013 emails do not show Jeffrey Epstein or his advisers pushing Call of Duty microtransactions. App Trigger later retracted that interpretation, saying the exchange was about educational video games and learning rewards, not commercial microtransactions. The phrase “I’m all for indoctrinating kids into an economy” was written by Pablos Holman to Epstein—not by Bobby Kotick.

What happened to the claim?

App Trigger published a story interpreting the emails as evidence that Epstein’s advisers helped push microtransactions in Call of Duty. In a February 25, 2026 retraction, the outlet said the exchange concerned educational games, not commercial microtransactions, and disclaimed any assertion that Epstein influenced their introduction or expansion. App Trigger’s retraction.

That distinction matters: the emails mention virtual items as possible rewards for learning to read, but a reference to virtual items does not establish a discussion about selling items in Call of Duty.

What do the May 2013 emails say?

An archived exhibit identifies a May 3, 2013 email from Pablos Holman to Jeffrey Epstein with the subject line “Re: president of call of duty activison.” Holman wrote: “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 exhibit preserves the unusual spelling “=xample.”

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The message forwarded text attributed to Bobby Kotick. In the exhibit transcription, Kotick’s note says: “X prize is a good idea but key is real world rewards. Learn to read: =arn cell phone minutes, iphone credits, virtual items in games.” These are presented as possible rewards for learning to read—not as proposals for commercial game purchases.

Who was speaking to whom?

App Trigger’s retraction describes the sequence this way: Epstein sent Kotick an idea to encourage educational video games; Kotick replied with examples of rewards; Epstein forwarded Kotick’s message to Holman; and Holman replied to Epstein. App Trigger says Kotick was not copied on Holman’s reply.

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So the “indoctrinating kids” sentence belongs to Holman’s message to Epstein. It is not a quote from Kotick, and the described email chain does not show Holman addressing Kotick in that reply.

Do the emails establish a Call of Duty business discussion?

No. The subject line mentions Call of Duty, but the text described in the exhibit concerns educational games and rewards for learning to read. That subject line alone does not establish that the exchange was about the franchise’s business or its monetization.

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App Trigger quotes a February 12, 2026 letter from Kotick’s attorney saying Kotick had no discussion with Epstein about Call of Duty or any Activision game or business, and had never met Holman. That is the attorney’s stated denial; the material cited here does not independently establish the full history of their relationships.

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What does the timing show?

The Daily Caller reports that the May 3, 2013 exchange came weeks after Activision had rolled out microtransactions in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, citing Forbes. The original Forbes report or an Activision announcement is not available in the cited material, so an exact rollout date or item list should not be inferred here. At most, the reported chronology places the emails after the rollout—not before it.

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The Daily Caller also says the files it describes do not suggest Epstein was “whiteboarding monetization strategy at Activision headquarters.” App Trigger’s retraction goes further in directly rejecting the claim that Epstein influenced microtransactions’ introduction or expansion. Neither statement supports attributing the game’s commercial strategy to Epstein.

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What is established—and what is not

  • Established by the email text as reproduced: Holman sent Epstein the “indoctrinating kids” remark, reacting to a forwarded note attributed to Kotick about rewards for learning to read.
  • Stated in App Trigger’s retraction: the exchange concerned educational games, not commercial microtransactions; the outlet disclaimed the implication that Epstein influenced microtransactions in gaming.
  • Reported, but not independently confirmed here from the original rollout source: Black Ops II microtransactions were introduced before the May 2013 email exchange.
  • Not established by these emails: that Epstein invented, directed, introduced, or helped expand Call of Duty microtransactions.

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