“No.” That is the answer to the question many have been wondering: Is Activision going to start a subscription service for Call of Duty similar to World of Warcraft? For the foreseeable future, once you pay $60 for a new Call of Duty game, you can play it online until your little trigger fingers fall off at no extra cost.
What Activision is going to ask you to pay for is a better way to connect with Call of Duty players and improve your game. This fall, Activision will launch Call of Duty: Elite. It’s being developed by Beachhead, the new studio Activision announced it had formed earlier this year (although Elite has apparently been in development for two years). Elite isn’t a game. It’s a service meant to enrich Call of Duty’s multiplayer experience.
Call of Duty players may have noticed that the community is fragmented. Black Ops is the most recent entry in the series, but there are still people playing Modern Warfare 2, others playing the original Modern Warfare, and still others playing World at War. Elite aims to at least partially unite these camps by giving players one profile that can be used in any Call of Duty game with Elite support.
Elite consists of four ideas that will make up your profile: Career, Connect, Compete, and Improve.
Career: Here you can view a summary of every Call of Duty match you play. You’ll be able to scrutinize details from individual matches as well as your entire career, spanning all of the games supported by Elite.
Connect: This is a social network for Call of Duty. Elite will allow for very specific match making and group creation. For instance, say you’re a Godzilla fan and you want to play Call of Duty against other Godzilla fans. Just start typing in “Godzilla…” If a group already exists, it will auto fill and you can instantly join the bunch. If it hasn’t been created, yet, it will be once you hit return.
Anyone can create a group. No one monitors them – it’s all automatic. So when the last person leaves a group, it is automatically disbanded. From a player’s Elite card, you can see all the groups they are a member of.
Elite is also going to support private clans.
Compete: Competition is what Call of Duty is all about, isn’t it? The Compete tab will be where you enlist in a constant stream of official Activision events, take part in screenshot contests, and even win prizes both real and virtual.
Improve: This is where you can advance your game. There will be tutorial videos for every weapon and every map, explaining how to take advantage of your tools and terrain. You’ll also find tips on how to improve your kill streaks and earn those perks.
Elite is being built for Modern Warfare 3 and should be available alongside its launch on November 8. It will also support Black Ops out of the gate. Other Call of Duty games might be added later, but Activision is focusing on Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops for now. You’ll be able to access the service from your computer, from within Call of Duty games, and from a mobile phone app.
So, you’re probably wondering if Elite is free or if it will come with that rumored subscription fee. Activision says there will be some free features, but for the complete Elite experience you’ll need to have a premium membership. How much will it cost? Activision isn’t saying but claims it will be “less than any comparable online entertainment service.” Included in your subscription will be all future downloadable map packs. Non-subscribers will have to pay the $15 or whatever the packs cost, but subscribers get them at no extra charge.
Elite will be in beta this summer. What do you think? Does it sound like something you’d pay for? Let us know in the comments below.
