Activision has given the strongest hint yet that this year's Call of Duty release will offer users new paid for online experiences as the company looks to better monetise its monster FPS franchise.
Central to these plans is new digital-focused Call of Duty studio Beachhead, which Activision says will play a key role in delivering an "unprecedented online universe" alongside 2011's CoD game.
"The Beachhead initiatives will be... an integral part to the innovation signature nature of the Call of Duty game that we're releasing this year," he said.
"And I just wanted to back up on the earlier question [and] make sure that I underscore that while we are attempting to deliver new incremental experiences that have yet heretofore been unseen by our players, we are not attempting to monetise or take any experience away that currently comes as part of the value proposition of buying the game.
"I think, very importantly, our community of Call of Duty players is one that we celebrate and you will see a lot of new services and capabilities that will be provided free of charge to all of our customers."
Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg added: "Well, we haven't yet released the details of the business model of Beachhead. The passion that people have for the game, the amount of time they're willing to engage with one another in a connected way. Our goal has been to create an experience that was amplifying enough and energising enough and igniting enough to that community to be able to be monetised."
Activision said that details of 2011's Call of Duty "initiatives" will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Comments
58 comments so far...
justforkicks101 on 10 May '11 said:
.... i hate cod
+ 1 cool points for me
meh2allfanboys on 10 May '11 said:
f**k off Activision
El Mag on 10 May '11 said:
And so it begins
http://troglopundit.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/automotivator_world_domination.jpg
meh2allfanboys on 10 May '11 said:
oh and in before wasted_again says haters are still guna hate
yourmumwasfun on 10 May '11 said:
'No lag pack - 9.99'
'Campers free map pack - 19.99'
evileyecheese on 10 May '11 said:
cod will eat itself
wrightandrewjame on 10 May '11 said:
The future has not been written. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. I wish I could believe that. My name is John Connor, I've been playing video games since I was born, when I was 13 they released COD. A game of the future. Online. All my life my brother told me the storm was coming, Judgment Day, the beginning of the war between man and Activision. Three billion lives would vanish in an instant, and I would lead what was left of the human race to ultimate victory (the women
). It hasn't happened yet, no monetisation, COD online hasn't taken control, we've stopped Activision (so far). I should feel safe, but I don't, so I live offline due to the PSN outage - no security, my address, everyone and everything can find me. I've changed all my passwords, but as hard as I try I can't erase my PSN account, my debit card details.
justforkicks101 on 10 May '11 said:
LOL
PandyBear on 10 May '11 said:
Which to me, sounds like : "Lol, we've got away with charging £13 for a map pack, i wonder what else we can get away with. Perhaps Hat packs for a Fiver each?"
Headsrinker on 10 May '11 said:
No-one has to buy anything they dont want. Its not like activision are making you do anything. They have stated they are not taking anything away from the game. It'll probably be like a COD store where you can buy unique skins, or profile images etc.
So stating 'i hate activision' every COD post is just getting very very boring.
Ais4Audi on 10 May '11 said:
It was bound to happen ever since the artical last year on CVG about share holder being unhappy with the lack of cash from MP...
Clusks on 10 May '11 said:
Interesting to see how it sells, I know the map packs made a lot of sales but I was never interested (play it a bit more casually, just with mates when they ask). Albeit, the safest way for them to test this out is with the modern warfare tag.
Augustus_aka_AG on 10 May '11 said:
I hope they do it. It would be yet another excuse for me not to buy the next CoD instalment.
nathar on 10 May '11 said:
Monetisation is the process whereby Bobby Kotick puts a dollar sign on everything he sees.
zombiesinmyhead on 10 May '11 said:
Allow me to consolidate my thoughticised projections during a brief temporalised window before I onlinicise them, and italicise the following underscored;
I've never paid for it in my life bitch, and I'm not about to start now.
You can capitalise that motherf*cker too, if you feel so inclineicized.
modge on 10 May '11 said:
I hate Activision,
fps_d0minat0r on 10 May '11 said:
i would pay if it actually worked
El Mag on 10 May '11 said:
I first read the headline as "Activision talks Call of Duty 2011 online 'molestation' plan"
Nimmo___007 on 10 May '11 said:
COD same game new maps anyone rememer the PES and FIFA battle look what happened there
McSpazatron on 10 May '11 said:
Brilliant, hahaha!!!
KK-Headcharge78 on 10 May '11 said:
Are the only people who comment on COD stories mainly people who don't play it? Just as thought, I don't own a copy of Halo yet see no reason at all to constantly participate in threads about it, with, I may add, all the credibility, knowledge and gravitas of a retarded Lemming.
God forbid Activision, a private company for profit in case you live in Wonderland, should want to expand on it's successful franchise, heaven knows why they do it, it could be money but that would be strange as surely no other company with a successful and highly subscribed user base does that, does it?
Zepf on 10 May '11 said:
As long as it isn't a "pay to play 1 match" or "pay for bullets" I don't have a problem with it.
Ali_ on 10 May '11 said:
Everyone will be able to play online for free, but the new Greedy Bastard pack, which actually lets you have weapons, will cost £29.99 a month.
kreemi on 10 May '11 said:
Good luck Bungie...
I guess it really depends what they mean.. Battlefield BC2 already offers premium gun DLC for players that can't be arsed to rank up and unlock them. Deadspace offers the same thing.
Unlock all perks for 240Msp etc, who cares?
maybe get flecktarn camo for your gun, or some exclusive badges, only 80msp..
zombiesinmyhead on 10 May '11 said:
Mostly. I've been playing COD since Big Red One on the PS2, bit of a guilty pleasure but the MP floats my boat. But this paid extras thing just stinks to me. I mean what'll be in there? Extra maps, extra skins, what? I think Activision have overestimated their userbase with this. The vast majority of people just want to slap a disk in and shoot people in the face online. Its not complicated. Without wanting to sound arrrogant, I bet most of them can't even spell 'Subscription based service' let alone have any appetite for one. I think this could be one of the first nails in the coffin for the franchise, and even though I enjoy the games, I won't lose any sleep either way.
TheLastDodo on 10 May '11 said:
I don't hate CoD, I just don't like A LOT of the people that play it, the people that make it and the people that fund it.
Oh and I've bought CoD4, MW2 and Black Ops in the past.
If theres one thing worse than generic CoD haters, its the CoD defense force.
nuggit3000 on 10 May '11 said:
One of my favourite FPS's (Soldier of Fortune 2) could kick campers. If you stayed still for a designated time, you were kicked. I loved it.
The_Jaster on 10 May '11 said:
To all that hate CoD: (bored of it myself)
Why waste your time on replying? If you truly don't like something then you will simply not buy into it, no need to spout hate as that isn't good for anyone.
Where is that Super awesome guy when ye need him?
jonmac3000 on 10 May '11 said:
Seriously?! oh for f**k sake. i truly understand that this is purely business and no matter how much we complain on here about it, from a business perspective they are getting 20% increase in traffic, sales and volume for every game! so long as that continues the horse will continue to be flogged. did i read somewhere in there that
activision 
are putting money BACK into Cod?? surely an error ed??
jonmac3000 on 10 May '11 said:
well said my good man. lets do our talking with our feet.
Joe90_Remy700 on 10 May '11 said:
firstly i'm not concerned about this as i'm getting bf3 and will never touch another CoD unless its extremely differnt (ie, not a Cod game)
But my thoughts on this are that it is fine that no-one misses out on the whole experience, but ultimately they will. when map packs are released the people who buy them have the full package, at a cost, and the people who dont can often feel "left out" even if they do save a few quid (true of any dlc). this will also be true for the other monetised content, whatever it may be, as people who dont want to or cant afford to but it will undoubtedly be left out of getting the full package (extra guns, more skins/camo choices, tinted sunglasses. no matter how small it is still content that is not available to everyone) so in fairness their statement is not true - only the people who pay for the extra content get the full package, people who dont are left short of the FULL experience
they can stick it up their bums
Gaseous Snake on 10 May '11 said:
Unless they start charging for air, I won't give them a damn penny. And even then, I'll hold my breath, or become a fish.
They already charge for water? Damn. And fish don't have pockets, either.
newsinthefield on 10 May '11 said:
In other words, Bobby, you're going to do what you've done with the Modern Warfare series and Black Ops -- release DLC in a constant stream for the gawking masses to lap up. I can't understand anybody who argues that Activision is not fundamentally evil.
The_Jaster on 10 May '11 said:
What because the want money? So evil isn't it?
Very_Silver_Ownz on 10 May '11 said:
'' I don't hate CoD, I just don't like A LOT of the people that play it, the people that make it and the people that fund it. ''
Oh dodo I thought we were friends ? Okay I play BO even though I know its crap but can you blame me
I'm ashamed of myself for enjoying CoD. Whenever I'm playing it I know theres someone on my friends list thinking, '' what a ret*rd his actually playing CoD ''
Dajmin on 10 May '11 said:
I had a feeling that Black Ops would be the last CoD game I picked up. I liked it and I even paid for the first DLC pack, but I got really annoyed at how quickly they kept rolling out the new stuff. It felt like a lot longer between the CoD4 release and the first DLC than it has been with each subsequent game. I hate when they do it right off teh bat, because each pack reduces the population and that screws over the players.
But hey, Battlefield 3 just around the corner. If they can do justice to the legacy that BF2 left, that'll be me happy for a long time. I don't mind feeding the EA beast again, now that they've been replaced as #1 Evil.
Martfish on 10 May '11 said:
I wasn't born yesterday Bobby.......
kimoak on 10 May '11 said:
I do wonder if Activision will go a completely separate route and go for some sort of CoD MMO. I don't mean in a press the shoot button and your character shoots then re-rolls his dice either. A twitched based MMO. Something that requires the infrastructure of something like WoW. That would definitely require a sub of some type or a credit system. Something on a grander scale like a world war in a persistent universe.
markyR on 10 May '11 said:
hahahaha, great post mate..
Oh how I miss my Black Ops, once my online fix, and now a distant memory, due to PSN being knackered. Will I get the next one? Hmmmm...........
LiqzZ on 10 May '11 said:
Never buying a CoD again after BO
The_Jaster on 10 May '11 said:
Just played some BO for the first time in about a month & I had a great time especially that last gun game wager match.....I got my ballistic knife shot with a few seconds left.
I think its best to keep to short bursts with CoD like 4 or 5 games.
Jensonjet on 11 May '11 said:
I don't see what's wrong with what Activision's plan. They're going to keep the current types of Call of Duty games exactly the same as they are now, but they're branching out with the CoD brand and designing new games that will offer a different experience for a different price. It won't be for everyone, but as long as there is a strong market for this brand, it would be poor business to not try. Maybe the new game will fail. It's a risk Activision seem willing to take. Who knows, maybe it'll be amazing. It costs nothing to wait and see.
_Marty_ on 11 May '11 said:
As long as Battlefield 3 doesn't go this way, they can charge what the hell they want for CoD.
However, those people defending this really need to take a step back and look at what's happening here. If people are ok with Activision charging for things that, up until now, we have taken for granted in online games, it will give them the message that this is ok - and we'll therefore see it in every game.
If you want to spend a few pounds to unlock the 'perks pack', a further few pounds to unlock 'hardcore mode', and more still to unlock 'vehicles', then you're an idiot. DON'T LET THEM DO THIS!
The_Jaster on 11 May '11 said:
I think your overreacting like others in here, please tell me where in that article did they say they would make you pay for "perks Packs" or a hardcore mode?
They said you will still get CoD much they same way it is now but there will be extra additions if you so wish to add to that experience.
laslowoodbine on 11 May '11 said:
Well I just wish they would look to invest time in making the games different rather than the good but repetitive rinse repeat formula they have now. Surely they make enough money to at least plan on making a new game engine! I have MW, MW2 & WAW and won't touch another COD until they make sufficient changes that make those games feel redundant!
prof_crunchy on 11 May '11 said:
I have more respect for those who play it and enjoy it, than those who don't play it, but somehow have the need to bitch about it at every opportunity.
The_Jaster on 11 May '11 said:
Exactly! I just don't get that with internet forums in general if I don't like something then I won't be discussing it in any shape or form.
I always felt Kevin Smith got it spot on with this line is Strikeback: "what they think is inside information about movies & actors they claim to despise yet can't stop discussing"
Just apply that to CoD & activision.
Joe90_Remy700 on 11 May '11 said:
what about those who played it and bitch about it?
petrolhead on 11 May '11 said:
Full release unlock game pack £9.99
All the full game map pack £9.99
CPU throttle removal pack (ensures full speed online funtionality) £9.99
Lighten that pocket pack £9.99
No real life pack £9.99
Suckers pack £9.99
Thieving developers pack £9.99
Judge on 11 May '11 said:
blow me activision what happened to the free multiplayer with every game or 'multiplayer will always be free with COD'
The_Jaster on 11 May '11 said:
They are still giving you it. (you obviously didn't read the article)
Dajmin on 12 May '11 said:
Oh, you'll still have multiplayer, but you can bet it'll be limited.
Sniper? You'll be stuck with the Flappy Fartblower .010 until you get the Sniper Rifle Pack. With a limit of 110% zoom unless you also buy the Scope Pack.
You like TDM? Well you'll need to buy the Team Modes Pack or you'll be stuck with FFA matches forever. You might even be lucky enough to get some maps with it.
You want the chopper or airstrike kill-streak rewards? You'll need the Death From Above Pack for that.
The worrying thing is, none of those sound like they're out of the realm of possibility for Activision. I just hope I haven't given them ideas.
Joe90_Remy700 on 12 May '11 said:
dajmin you should get them copyrighted straight away! they sound Call of Duty-ish names they'd give to dlc (sorry not downloaded, paid for to unlock stuff already on the disc - pftusaotd)
_Marty_ on 12 May '11 said:
They didn't. However, they haven't said what they are charging for - this is pure speculation (as your assumptions are). That being said, Activision have taken a fairly 'money-centric' view on gaming in the last few years, so I am not surprised to hear this news, and I would not be surprised to hear that they are charging for extra perks or other such rubbish.
They said that you'll still be able to play on line - they did not say you'll have access to exactly the same stuff that a fully paying customer does...
The_Jaster on 12 May '11 said:
The section I have highlighted is a quote from Bobby Kotick, so from that they are adding new features players haven't seen yet. (so bang goes yer speculation on paying for perks) which is further backed up by when he clearly says they are NOT taking away any experience you get form buying the disc.
Yes you will have to pay a fee for these extras but no one is forcing you to do so I think maybe they will give you a new extensive playlist/mode maybe like an MMO setting something similar to a single player style but instead of AI bots everyone will be a human controlled player.
xoastro on 15 May '11 said:
You all can cry all you want but here are the facts Activision will go ahead with this idea other gaming companies will follow suit and gaming as most of us as we have grown up will be degraded to a mess of those who can will and those who cannot will not a classic case of the have and the have nots. Hearing things like what Activision used to anger me intensely but as I have gotten older I have come to realise that companies like Activision can and will do as they like because the masses allow them to for everyone that is outraged but this news 50 or more people will go and purchase the latest COD\DLC so if you don't like it find another game to play simples. The Elder Scroll 5:Skyrim will be released at about the same time as the next COD so why not play that instead ?
The_Jaster on 15 May '11 said:
I respectfully disagree.
AzreasShadow on 18 May '11 said:
I've been playing call of duty online since it's been there and one thing I've noticed that they all have in common for sure is HACKERS!!!!!!1 Jesus F Christ you people are so ignorant. stop wasting your time on ways to make more money off of us and fix the dam problems that are causing a good number of your loyal customers to feel ripped off, me included. I am so f**king tired of shooting someone in the head with the fifty cal for them to back behind cover and and find a way to kill me which is actually preferable to the ones that don't go behind cover cuz they know I can't kill them with one or even sometimes two shots. this also happens when I shoot people up close and personal with the pump shotgun. (both) half the time this happens I die from one shot to the elbow or leg with a low damage weapon. either there are a lot of people cheating which I like to think or your game has some serious f**king flaws. yet here you guys are coming up with new and wonderful ways to continue ripping us off without trying to fix any of it. I snapped black ops in half for this reason and I'm trying to have hope for mw2 but I'm losing it. I won't spend another dime on a cod game let alone extras unless I see some results. this used to be one of my favorite things to do but I'm seriously thinking about going to a different game. both medal of honor and battlefield are looking pretty good right now compared to this rip off you call a franchise. make me change my mind or lose me and many like me forever.