Call of Duty Elite's launch last year was by no means smooth. In fact, Activision offered an olive branch for fans that struggled to access the for-pay services, as the servers were hammered by hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic Call of Duty fans. Elite memberships were extended by 30 days to account for the long service outage--an offer which Activision has oddly expanded.
The "season of content" for Modern Warfare 3 is about to end--just in time for the release of Black Ops 2, of course. Collection 4, aka "Final Assault," contains five new maps: Gulch, Boardwalk, Offshore, Decommission, and Parish. Call of Duty Elite subscribers on Xbox 360 will be able to download their final maps on September 5th, while regular Xbox 360 players will be able to get the content one day later, on September 6th. PS3 and PC players will have to wait, of course.
Activision has released a new trailer, showing off the game's final maps. We wonder: will Black Ops 2 players be so lucky to have 24 pieces of post-release content as well?
Surprise! Activision has announced yet another free DLC drop for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the second gratis add-on for the popular online shooter.
"Terminal," the popular multiplayer map from Modern Warfare 2, is being re-released for free for both Call of Duty Elite subscribers and non-subscribers. The map will be available first on Xbox 360: July 17th for Elite, July 18th for non-Elite.
While Electronic Arts is celebrating the fourth with double XP in Battlefield 3, Activision is taking a different approach. Starting today, all previously released DLC for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops will be available for half-off. The deal is available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, and will be ongoing for a week.
One month after Xbox 360 owners got access to it, "Content Collection #2" is now available for purchase on PlayStation Network and PC. Available for all COD players, the $15 add-on includes five maps: Getaway, Lookout, Sanctuary, Foundation, Oasis, Kill Switch, and Iron Clad. In addition, the add-on offers two spec ops missions: Kill Switch and Iron Clad.
Last month's free ride is over, folks. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is continuing its "season of content" for paying Call of Duty Elite subscribers on Xbox 360 tomorrow. Included in tomorrow's drop is a new Spec-Ops mission called "Arctic Recon" (pictured above). In addition, the update includes three new Face Off maps: Vortex, U-Turn, and Intersection.
The word "free" doesn't usually come into mind when thinking about Activision's wildly successful Call of Duty series. However, the publisher is throwing fans a bone with "Face Off," a new free mode for Modern Warfare 3. Originally available on Xbox 360 two weeks ago, Face Off and two maps will be making an appearance on PS3 next month.
Not one of Call of Duty's two million Elite subscribers? While paid members have been getting monthly content drops, there are still many players that want to buy their DLC piecemeal. That's where the "Content Collections" come in.
Activision's Call of Duty Elite subscription service now has two million paying members, growing by 33% since the end of January. With a $50 price tag, Activision has managed to squeeze out $100 million in additional revenue from Call of Duty players.
With all the hubbub over Call of Duty's "season of content" for Modern Warfare 3, it's nice to see Activision throw non-paying fans a bone with some free DLC. Coming May 15th is the new Face Off mode--created specifically for 1v1 and 2v2 battles. Best of all, two Face Off maps--Aground and Erosion--will be free to all Xbox 360 players, not just Call of Duty Elite members.
Subscription models are lucrative. While Microsoft rakes in the dough with Xbox Live, Sony has been trying to entice PS3 gamers to invest in PlayStation Plus. A recent survey shows how Sony is playing with the formula, seeing what would generate the most interest in the premium PSN service.
For example, the survey quizzes interest in offering "new Blu-ray games" with the subscription, or offering free access to Call of Duty Elite with a Plus membership.
PC gamers have long felt like second-class citizens in the Call of Duty ecosystem. However, Modern Warfare 3 has proven those fears wrong--they're actually third class citizens. Neither paid or free forms of the Call of Duty Elite service are available for PC players--despite reassurances. And none of the post-release content has yet to arrive on PC.
Well, that finally changes next month, with the release of the first "Content Collection" on PC.
Like clockwork, Call of Duty Elite members can expect their monthly Modern Warfare 3 DLC tomorrow. As promised, April's content drop consists of two maps: Sanctuary & Foundation. It will be available to paid Call of Duty Elite members on Xbox Live tomorrow, and should be available to paying Elite members on PS3 next month. Non-Elite members can expect this DLC to drop in a general "Content Collection" later in the year--first on Xbox Live, of course.
As promised, the first DLC for Modern Warfare 3 that doesn't require a Call of Duty Elite subscription will be available on Xbox Live on March 20th. It is the first of four "Content Collections" that will be available for MW3. It will bundle all the content that Elite members have already received in January and February, as well as the content in March's drop.
Call of Duty Elite has become a smash success for Activision, inspiring hopeful imitators. The company revealed just how successful its been in today's Q4 2011 earnings call today, announcing that it's preparing a "2.0" launch to coincide with the next Call of Duty title. Currently the service has reached more than 1.5 million premium annual memberships.
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