Deep in the shadows a lot of discussion is apparently going on in the Activision camp about the potential of subscription models for online play and the best way to introduce this model into the console market space; apparently a decision as well as a direction is ready to be charted. It is likely that an announcement will come from Activision before the end of the year, according to our sources.
While the company has so far said nothing more than they are studying the issue, Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick has been quoted many times about how much he would like to move the Call of Duty franchise into a subscription model that could better service the players. We don’t know much about servicing the players, but the potential for a new revenue stream makes the subscription very likely at some point.
Some of the news behind the move to a Call of Duty subscription model is driven by the news that Activision has partnered with Netease in China to test such a model in that region, according to our sources. Of course, in China it will only be on the PC platform. Activision has not officially confirmed plans for a subscription model yet, but the door is still apparently open. This is despite the fact that the Call Of Duty community form leads for both Modern Warfare 2 and the upcoming Black Ops have said that there are no plans for charge for online play for either of these titles.
