After months of rumours, it has finally been confirmed: Activision are to introduce a paid subscription model for the world’s biggest video game series, Call of Duty.
As predicted in a recent feature on our site, publishers Activision have decided that they want a bigger slice of the online shooter market and will introduce a first-of-its-kind platform for console gamers – a monthly paid subscription for the just-announced Call of Duty: Elite.
Revealed this morning after the Wall Street Journal broke a media embargo on the subscription, Elite is to be launched alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 this November and will provide extra content that isn’t available on game discs.
Although a pricing structure has not yet been announced, there will be two tiers of Elite usage – free, which offers little more than a Facebook-alike system to help players meet up and Elite, which provides extra content, including downloadable map packs and a myriad of Bungie.net-style stat-tracking features.
With over 7 million players taking the Call of Duty series online every day, it’s no surprise that Activision have firmly announced plans to monetise their online service outside of downloadable map packs. Further details of the Elite service are expected to be announced today and will of course be a focal point of next week’s E3 video game trade show.
The first trailer for Call of Duty: Elite can be found below so take a look and let us know what you think.
Is this a bridge too far for some COD players or are you loyal enough to the brand that it doesn’t bother you? Personally, we would’ve preferred if Activision invested some of their Black Ops cash into building a new game engine for Modern Warfare 3…
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