Finally! Non-Elite peons of Call of Duty's online community will be able to buy the first map pack for Modern Warfare 3. The first "Content Collection," described as "a compilation of content previously released to Call of Duty Elite premium members" will be available in March for Xbox 360 players.
That means the first map pack should include Piazza, Liberation, and Overwatch.
Electronic Arts has made some significant progress in its attempts to capture more of the market share of the first-person shooter. Battlefield 3's piece of the first-person pie jumped eleven percent last year--from 13% to 24%--but the publisher is thinking of ways to up the ante even further. Recognizing the success of Activision's Call of Duty Elite service, EA is determined to get "one step ahead," perhaps by developing a similar service for its own military shooter franchise.
As promised, Call of Duty Elite premium members will be able to download one extra map for Modern Warfare 3 this month. "Overwatch" (pictured above) will be available for Xbox Live Gold members with Elite subscriptions on February 21st.
Beachhead Studio is getting closer to releasing Clan Operations for Call of Duty Elite. The handy Clan organization feature will add competitions with experience and prizes on the line, to give more incentive for using and leveling up with your fellow clan members. It's ultimately aimed at making it easier for Elite users to level up their clans in Modern Warfare 3.
Activision has confused quite a number of Call of Duty fans with its tiered release of DLC for Modern Warfare 3. Two add-on maps are already available for the popular online shooter, but only for Call of Duty Elite subscribers on Xbox 360. Non-Elite players and those playing on PC and PS3 have been left out in the cold.
Well, one more piece of the puzzle has been put together. The Piazza and Liberation maps will be available for Call of Duty Elite subscribers on the PS3 starting February 28th.
Activision promised twenty content drops for Modern Warfare 3 over it's "season of content." One day after the launch of the game's first DLC, the publisher has revealed its year-long DLC release schedule.
While the 20 pieces of content to be released via DLC will largely comprise of maps, additional Spec-Ops missions and game modes are planned for release as well. For example, March's content drop will feature two Spec-Ops missions in addition to an extra map. June's update will introduce a brand new gameplay mode.
Call of Duty DLC is out today. Usually, a new DLC release is accompanied by a frantic flurry of traffic to Xbox Live's servers. Today, it's accompanied by a bit of confusion. Why? Because the DLC is only available to a select few.
First, you must play Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox 360. Then, you must be a Call of Duty Elite premium member. Next, you must download the content from within the game store, not the Xbox Live Marketplace. Finally, you'll be able to access the content through new Elite-only playlists.
Call of Duty Elite "premium members" finally have cause to celebrate as Activision has revealed its "nine-month post-release content schedule" for Modern Warfare 3 will begin on January 24.
Xbox Live Gold members that have Elite premium memberships will get first access to the content with the release of two "all-new" multiplayer maps: Liberation and Piazza. Activision says that content will be available on "additional platforms at a later time."
Over a million people are subscribers to Activision's Call of Duty Elite service. While the service has offered little new as of late, that's about to change tomorrow, with the introduction of Elite's official iOS app.
The mobile version of Elite was originally supposed to launch alongside Elite, but service disruptions led to the delay. The app will allow you to see your career stats, view your performance in recent matches, edit your loadouts, and browse current challenges.
Now that Call of Duty Elite is fully operational, perhaps you'll consider subscribing? Activision's premium COD service offers extra benefits for "Founders," and today is the last day you can get the shiny, special "permanent designation" that only a million other people have so far.
Founders get an exclusive title, emblem, and weapon camo to use in Modern Warfare 3, as well as a private discussion group in the Elite Connect section. You also get 500 XP for your clan, and "exclusive competitions and prizes that only Founders can enter."
While Call of Duty Elite should have been running perfectly from day one, it hasn't. The service has been spotty since launch, and Activision has promised that services would be fully operational by December 1st. It appears the timetable has been moved up a bit, as the publisher is now saying that the Call of Duty subscription service will be fully operational for Thanksgiving and the holiday weekend.
"We are where we should have been at launch," said Daniel Suarez, vice president of production at Activision. "It should be an enjoyable holiday weekend for people."
So how unprecedented was demand for Call of Duty Elite? Activision has announced that it's only taken six days to sell one million premium memberships to Call of Duty Elite. To put that figure in perspective, Activision notes that it took Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Xbox Live about a year to reach one million paid subscribers.
Since its launch, more than four million gamers have registered for Call of Duty Elite, including basic memberships. Over 80,000 clans have been created, and 100,000 user-generated videos have been uploaded.
Call of Duty Elite was swamped when it launched alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 this month, leaving most players unable to access the social service. It's still spotty, but publisher Activision has now said that it intends to have everything up and running by December 1.
Activision said that demand for its Call of Duty Elite subscription exceeded its own optimistic expectations. While the company hasn't revealed how many subscriptions have been purchased, we can get an idea thanks to GameStop. In a recent earnings call, the retailer announced that nearly 600,000 subscriptions were sold at their stores.
That's a staggering figure for an online service that has yet to prove itself. Even more incredible is the fact that this number only accounts for vouchers purchased at GameStop locations--undoubtedly, the figure jumps much higher when you include all subscriptions purchased directly on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.
Call of Duty Elite has been suffering an embarrassment of riches, as console users flocking to the premium service has made it difficult for many to get in. The PC version hasn't released yet, and despite a statement to the contrary earlier today, the company claims it's is still coming.
Speculation was kicked off by an official tweet that said they "cannot guarantee if or when a version will be available for the PC." The "if" raised a few eyebrows.
Read more: 'The goal has always been to provide a PC offering' »
Comment on this story