Publisher of the hugely successful Call of Duty series, Activision, has delivered quite a bold statement: the company believes social networks such as Elite will become a necessity in gaming.
Services that offer a social network within games will soon be required, if Call of Duty‘s publisher is to be believed. Activision’s Vice President of digital, Jamie Berger, told MCV:
We believe that a 24/7, year-round services strategy that broadens the game experience beyond just playing is going to be a necessity.
He added:
Right now, it’s an option but in three to five years, it won’t be. To support a diverse player base, you will have to have a services and ongoing content strategy. I don’t see how games are going to manage without that.
Berger concluded:
Elite is about Call of Duty being bigger than ever five years from now and laying the groundwork for that.
Several mainstream franchises have already started to implement services similar to Call of Duty: Elite. Electronic Arts will be utilizing EA Sports Football Club for the soon-to-be-released FIFA 12 – for free, and the company will also be integrating Autolog for their Need For Speed franchise with the next game to use it being NFS: The Run – for free. Additionally, EA will include the Battlelog social system in DICE’s Battlefield 3 – for free.
Call of Duty: Elite, meanwhile, will cost subscribers $49.99 a year. It’ll provide its users with several downloadable content packs before it’s made available on the PlayStation Network. Elite will also deliver daily and weekly competitions, as well as events which consists of both virtual and real prizes. In addition to this, subscribers will have access to ‘expert’ tips on maps, guns, and perks. Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which launches worldwide on November 8th, will be the first title in the franchise to use Elite.
