I didn't see anywhere on the site, so here it is sorry if its already been mentioned.
Activision-owned developers Infinity Ward and Treyarch have stated that consumers won’t be required to “pay to play” Modern Warfare 2 or COD: Black Ops online.
The former has sold over 20 million copies and a – presumably fake – video did the rounds on the internet yesterday suggesting a subscription fee unique to the game’s online mode is to be introduced.
“Modern Warfare 2 subscription plan rumors going around. For the record, nobody has to pay to play COD or MW2 multiplayer, nor will they,” Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling said on Twitter.
His message was followed by one from Treyarch community manager Josh Olin. “No, you will not have to 'Pay to Play' #CODBlackOps Multiplayer either. Rumor -> Squashed,” he said.
COD: Black Ops is due for release on November 9, and Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson has said that pre-orders for the game are tracking ahead of 2009’s record breaking Modern Warfare 2.
While it appears neither game will carry a unique subscription fee, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has expressed a strong desire to better monetise the franchise, which racked up 1.7 billon hours of online play between November 2009 and April 2010.
He said recently that he thinks consumers are “clamouring” for an online, subscription-based COD service. "I would have Call Of Duty be an online subscription service tomorrow,” he said, when asked what one thing he would like to change about his business in an instant.
The executive also said that he’s frustrated by existing business models that see companies like Microsoft benefiting most from the success of online third party content. “We’ve heard that 60 per cent of [Microsoft’s] subscribers are principally on Live because of Call Of Duty,” Kotick said, before pledging to support new gaming devices that give third party publishers a bigger slice of the online pie.
The former has sold over 20 million copies and a – presumably fake – video did the rounds on the internet yesterday suggesting a subscription fee unique to the game’s online mode is to be introduced.
“Modern Warfare 2 subscription plan rumors going around. For the record, nobody has to pay to play COD or MW2 multiplayer, nor will they,” Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling said on Twitter.
His message was followed by one from Treyarch community manager Josh Olin. “No, you will not have to 'Pay to Play' #CODBlackOps Multiplayer either. Rumor -> Squashed,” he said.
COD: Black Ops is due for release on November 9, and Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson has said that pre-orders for the game are tracking ahead of 2009’s record breaking Modern Warfare 2.
While it appears neither game will carry a unique subscription fee, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has expressed a strong desire to better monetise the franchise, which racked up 1.7 billon hours of online play between November 2009 and April 2010.
He said recently that he thinks consumers are “clamouring” for an online, subscription-based COD service. "I would have Call Of Duty be an online subscription service tomorrow,” he said, when asked what one thing he would like to change about his business in an instant.
The executive also said that he’s frustrated by existing business models that see companies like Microsoft benefiting most from the success of online third party content. “We’ve heard that 60 per cent of [Microsoft’s] subscribers are principally on Live because of Call Of Duty,” Kotick said, before pledging to support new gaming devices that give third party publishers a bigger slice of the online pie.
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