Far East subs for CoD could earn $100m
Janco: Netease and Activision Blizzard should create Chinese pay-to-play model
Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey has predicted a subscription service for Call of Duty in China, noting that such a scheme could bring in $50 to 100 million in the first year alone.
Hickey (as reported by Gamasutra) bases the projection of the success of Activision Blizzard's new World of Warcraft partnership with Netease in the Far East, having recently severed ties with The9 as its distributor in China.
Hickey believes Netease could accrue $769 million in sales in its current financial year, and suggested that Acitivsion Blizzard also partner with it for a Chinese release of StarCraft II.
Activision recently refuted speculation that it was to introduce a subscription service to Call of Duty, but CEO Bobby Kotick has been open in his desire to monetise the series' multiplayer.