Call Of Duty Elite adds subscription fee
No charges for online play as Activision plans cross-title community service
Details of the much rumoured subscription service for Call Of Duty have been leaked early, with confirmation that it will not charge for online play.
Although embargos on the service were not due to lift until later today the Wall Street Journal has revealed that the service, known as Call Of Duty Elite, will launch alongside this year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in November.
Many elements of the service will be free, including community features "inspired by Facebook" that allow players to meet others "who share various affiliations and interests".
Other features will allow users to analyse their performance within the game, with tools apparently modelled on stock-trading websites.
The exact cost of the paid-for subscriptions has not yet been decided, but Activision has indicated that it will be less than comparable services such as the $7.99-a-month Netflix.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is described as not being worried about negative fan feedback on the concept, primarily because online play itself will not be affected.
Kotick in particular has been hinting of an online subscription service for a number of years,"I think our audiences are clamouring for it," he said in 2010.
"If you look at what they're playing on Xbox Live today, we've had 1.7 billion hours of multiplayer play on Live. I think we could do a lot more to really satisfy the interests of the customers.