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Call of Duty Elite still 'intermittent,' annual memberships bumped to 13 months
While Modern Warfare 3 appears to be continuing the trend of stable, successful Call of Duty multiplayer launches, the much-ballyhooed Call of Duty Elite service hasn't fared so well. Despite a beta and a solid indication of the platform's requirements, Elite has been down since launch day. While Activision and Beachhead Studios continue to toil away on the problem, they've added another update to the CoD Elite status page letting eager gamers know what's what. "And for our premium members who are Founders, know that granting your status and delivering your in-game benefits in MW3 is a priority," the statement reads, addressing the early paid adopters of Elite. "Also, to ensure that every premium member receives their full money's worth, we are immediately and automatically extending your membership to Call of Duty Elite by 30 days at no additional cost." So that means your one-year membership is now a thirteen-month membership. But what if you haven't bought Elite yet? "If you're still considering becoming a premium member, we're going to extend Founder eligibility until the end of the month," the statement continues, "and you will also receive the additional 30 days of access." So that's thirteen months of Elite and a one-month extension on Founder eligibility. A decent enough consolation package for premium members, but the free users will have to simply wait for Elite to get back online before they can start tweaking their loadouts from work. Stay tuned for an interview with Activision on what's happening with Call of Duty Elite.
European PSN releases for November 9: Elite, Premier Manager and Hydrophobia
European PSN users who are looking to shoot every single one of their friends and relations, and then have documented evidence of the affair: You are the worst murderers ever. However, you're the ideal audience for Call of Duty Elite, which launched today on the Euro PlayStation Store. You can grab the app and sign up for a premium membership through the Store, then fly your K/D spread like a proud, proud flag. Also on the European Store is the managerial football sim Premier Manager 2012, and the revamped, Move-enabled Hydrophobia Prophecy. Check out PlayStation Blog for the full list of releases!
Activision: Call of Duty Elite capacity increasing to serve user rush
Wouldn't you know it? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and its premium "Elite" service are damned popular. And somehow, much like EA with every Battlefield ever, Activision has been caught unawares by just how popular it is, warning potential users that "Registration requests for our new live service Call of Duty Elite are exceeding even our most optimistic expectations, which is creating a bottleneck and some players have not been able to register." Beachhead studio head Chacko Sonny (writing from the beach, we hope, for symmetry's sake) assured players in this status message that their "gameplay data is safe" and will be right there when they finally manage to get signed up for Elite. Activision and Beachhead are working "around the clock" to increase Elite capacity. Of course, when more people get in, it'll stop being elite. More like Call of Duty Inclusive.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's Hardened Edition, unboxed
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is finally out and available in stores, and if you're considering picking up the Hardened Edition (available in most places for $99.99, a mere $40 more than the standard edition), boy do we have a gallery for you to browse through. Below, you can see exactly what's in that box, including a collectible case, a "Limited Edition Field Journal" featuring sketches and materials associated with the game and its story, and the special card and manual that comes with the free year of Call of Duty Elite (and "Founder" status). Sure, it doesn't have quite as many dragons as Skyrim's Collectors Edition, but that Call of Duty Elite membership will come in handy (not to mention it'll save you the $49.99 that you'd usually pay per year for the service's premium features). Enjoy. %Gallery-138747%
PSA: Call of Duty Elite now available on Xbox Live
You may not be able to buy copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 just yet (well, not all of you), but you can always get yourself queued up for battle with the game's Elite application, which is already available for download via Xbox Live Marketplace. Coming in at just under 100MB, it ... uh ... doesn't do very much until you have a copy of MW3 and some multiplayer under your belt, as we were met with a prompt on load asking us to do as much before jumping into Elite. The client has yet to arrive on the PlayStation 3's PSN, but we're betting it'll be available tomorrow at some point alongside the company's weekly content update. Unfortunately for PC users, Elite won't be available at launch tomorrow, but instead will arrive "when it's ready." And in case you haven't been paying attention, the game launches tomorrow on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
Call of Duty Elite for PC won't be ready at launch
Call of Duty Elite, the ambitious stat-tracking and community service that will launch with the console versions of Modern Warfare 3 next week, will not be available for PC at launch. Developer Beachhead notes that the PC is an "insecure platform" (as the PSN quickly looks to the sky and whistles) and that its uncomfortable with giving away prizes "when people can easily cheat their stats." The developer notes that without a central, trusted resource for stats, a lot of the competition features become unfair. "We're as committed as ever to the PC, but the need to ensure a safe PC environment is greater than ever. It's really extensive. We need more time to get there, so Elite on PC will not launch on Day 1," Beachhead Studio head Chacko Sonny told Activision social media manager Dan Amrich. "We're working our butts off to make it happen, but we won't release it until we know that PC gamers can enjoy Elite as it's meant to be." When will Elite launch for PC? Chacko is using the old Blizzard stand-by: "It will be ready when it is ready."
Tour Call of Duty Elite's virtual world through the eyes of Modern Warfare 3
Worried about Mom on Facebook infiltrating your super elite squad of Modern Warfare 3 multiplayers? It looks like that won't be an issue with Call of Duty Elite's Facebok integration into MW3, though that guy from high school you don't wanna talk to might end up bugging you constantly. The good with the bad, folks.
Call of Duty Elite beta finally available on PlayStation 3
The Xbox 360 Call of Duty head start doesn't just apply to DLC, where the platform enjoys a limited period of exclusivity; it also applies to the forthcoming suite of services known as Call of Duty Elite. Or, rather, applied. The Xbox 360 beta program kicked off over two months ago but today, Activision has announced that the beta is also available for PlayStation 3. "Beta testers can take their current Call of Duty multiplayer experience to the next level by jumping into the Beta version of the Call of Duty Elite service, as beta access will start to be activated in stages, with limited invitations rolling out effective today," the press release reads. The beta is of course limited to Call of Duty: Black Ops, with the full feature set locked until Modern Warfare 3 hits retail on November 8. While many of Elite's most popular services will be free, a $50/year premium subscription will also be available, which notably includes a year's worth of DLC for the game. Whether premium -paying PS3 players will still have to suffer through Xbox exclusivity is unclear; we've asked Activision to clarify. Until then, if you want in on the beta, head to www.callofduty.com/elite and enlist!
Connect and compete with this Call of Duty Elite video and screens
Not sure about this whole Elite thing? Us either! But in the event that a video might be able to change your mind, well, prepare to maybe have your mind... possibly influenced, in some capacity. But wait! If that's not enough, there are also screens:
Call of Duty Elite premium membership explained, mobile apps incoming
Here's the thing about Call of Duty Elite so far: It's confusing. Even Chacko Sonny, studio head of Beachhead Studios, agrees that the information shared about the service hasn't exactly been clear. "There's been a lot of review internally in the organization in terms of how that message was presented," he told us at Call of Duty XP this weekend. "It's tough to say -- I think people wanted to understand it in its entirety as opposed to in pieces." There's a good reason for the segmented information delivery, according to Activision's Vice President of Digital, Jamie Berger. "The tie to showing everything, including the price, was really tied to doing it in lockstep with Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer," he says. "The only way to explain in the end what you were going to get, truly, was to show it with Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer. ... And yes, that did mean we were going to have to hold back some information until we were able to frankly put it all on the table with the Infinity Ward team. We decided it was better to take the hit that way than on the development side to take the hit by holding back the beta." Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer had its official reveal last night, so Activision can finally talk about what Call of Duty Elite's premium membership entails. The price, we can tell you now, will be $49.99 a year. And what's included in that package is listed right after the break. %Gallery-132556%
UK GAMEfest goes hands-on with Modern Warfare 3 this September
Gamers in the UK will have the chance to play Modern Warfare 3 two months before its release at this year's GAMEfest. Hosted by "Europe's leading specialist videogame retailer," GAME, the event will run September 16-18 at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre, and is open to GAME Reward Card holders only. Reward Cards cost £3, while tickets to GAMEfest are £10 for adults and £5 for children. GAMEfest takes place two weeks after the Los Angeles Call of Duty XP event, which will also feature hands-on time with Modern Warfare 3, including multiplayer and the full functionality of Call of Duty Elite.
Ridley Scott (and others) working on Call of Duty Elite content
Usually, we think of making first-person shooter videos as the domain of dorm dwellers with too much time and not enough party invitations or, well, that chocolate milk kid. But, as you know, Activision has talked about bringing some actual adults into the field with Call of Duty Elite video content. Now we've gotten our first peek at that roster of "Hollywood talent," which includes Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and directors Ridley Scott (as in Blade Runner) and Tony Scott. Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg revealed the names while speaking at the Pacific Crest Global Technology Leadership Forum. As reported by USA Today, Hirshberg said, "Just like any other passion that people spend a lot of their free time doing, Call of Duty players share a common language and a common experience and we think we can create some entertainment content that they will love and talk about and share." We're assuming USA Today accidentally left "on YouTube" off at the end there.
PSA: Call of Duty Elite beta invites rolling out
Listen up, recruits! If you signed up for Operation Call of Duty Elite Beta, keep an eye out for a dispatch from Activision HQ. The top brass has informed us that beta invites are beginning to be sent now. "The beta will be activated in phases for feature testing, with limited invitations rolling out in the coming weeks," the classified document reads. These Call of Duty Elite beta invites only extend to Xbox 360 users playing Call of Duty: Black Ops right now, but will support all future franchise titles, starting with the launch of Modern Warfare 3 on November 8. The PS3 release of this beta was held back by the PSN outage, according to the FAQ. According to Activision, over 2.8 million have signed up for the beta, so if you have yet to receive your beta invite, exercise patience. For more information on Call of Duty Elite, be sure to check out our preview of the service and interview with Activision's VP of Digital, Jamie Berger.
Call of Duty Elite invitation-only beta begins July 14
Activision's stat-tracking and community service, Call of Duty Elite, has yet to receive a firm launch date, but this morning we learned that Elite will enter "invitation-only" beta starting on July 14. Though Elite won't be fully functioning until Modern Warfare 3 drops in November, the beta will launch first on last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops. After opening the registration site last week, Activision says "over 1 million" Call of Duty fanatics have signed up for entry into the beta thus far. The company has yet to fully detail the differences between the paid version of Elite and the free one, but the beta announcement ambiguously notes it'll "give users a taste of the experience." Sounds ... elite?
Call of Duty Elite Q&A: We ask Activision to clear up some of the confusion
This week's reveal of Call of Duty Elite left us – and you, if the comments are any indication – with more questions than answers. So we rounded up Activision VP of Digital Jamie Berger to answer some of the more common questions. For his part, Berger wasn't shy about acknowledging that confusion. "There's just going to be confusion," he told me over the phone. "There's just so much we're trying to lay out in front of people at one time. So not at all surprised that we either weren't clear on some points or people were confused." The biggest point of confusion was undoubtedly the free aspects of the service, so let's start there: What's free in Call of Duty Elite? "The whole Career section," Berger tells me. "All of your stats, the personalized leadersboards, the heatmaps, the weapon stats, the ability to import your Facebook friends ... personal best, ability to compare, etc." This section bears the most resemblance to other offerings in the space, notably Bungie.net, as many of you mentioned. And like the core Bungie.net service, this section of Elite will remain free, including new features that are added to it. Sounds un-innovative you say? Berger says it's up to the team at Beachhead to push for "innovation, even in things that have been well established like a heatmap or a leaderboard, where we know there's room for improvement." The Career features will be front and center in the beta this summer, so interested parties will have plenty of opportunities to tell Beachhead how innovative they are.%Gallery-124696%
Call of Duty Elite enlisting 'Hollywood talent' to create web TV series
The Call of Duty Elite news train keeps on keeping on, with UK paper the Guardian reporting that a premium membership will include "exclusive access" to a Call of Duty-themed web TV series. "We have engaged some top Hollywood talent to create linear video content that will be exclusive to Elite members," Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg tells the Guardian. "That content is inspired by Call of Duty." With Elite intended to maintain, or even increase, interest in the Call of Duty brand between its annual releases, some linear video programming could certainly help bridge that gap and keep subscribers coming back to Elite. "If you're a sports fan, there are lots of ways for you to connect with that hobby, that passion, not just on the day that the games are played, but throughout the week, and we wanted to give [Call of Duty players] real entertainment value," Hirshberg says. And that's about all we have in the way of details. No word on whether the Hollywood talent Activision's procured will create live action, ala Find Makarov, animated, ala Halo Legends, or machinima content, ala John Hillcoat's excellent Red Dead Redemption short. Hirshberg says, "We're not going to give much more detail until we have something to show. That'll be later in the year."
Sign up for the Call of Duty Elite beta now
As Activision steps into the bold new future of online social stuff with Call of Duty Elite, it's giving you the opportunity to see that future in ... the nearer future. A page just opened offering signups for a closed beta. You just need your birthdate, your console preference (which may require some soul-searching!) and your email address. Oh, and you need a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops, the game to which the beta is tied. But you probably have one of those already.
Call of Duty Elite preview: Building a better mousetrap
"There's been a lot of speculation and we'll continue to say this: We do not and will not charge for multiplayer." While Jamie Berger, VP of Digital at Activision, saved that commitment for the end of the nearly 30-minute reveal of Call of Duty Elite, we thought we'd get it out of the way first because, like Mr. Berger said, there has been a lot of speculation. And in the interest of elucidation, we'll get another of Mr. Berger's comments out of the way: "When it launches in the fall, Elite is going to offer a premium membership." So if Call of Duty Elite isn't some kind of "Online Pass" to play Call of Duty with your friends, then what is it and what will a premium membership include? We'll get back to the issue of cost later but, before we do, it's important to walk you through just what the team at Beachhead is trying to do with Elite. To hear them say it, Elite is nothing less than "Activision getting in front of our players and leading them into the future of connected entertainment."%Gallery-124696%
Call of Duty Elite is the paid 'digital platform' from Beachhead Studios, built for MW3 [Update: Now with video!]
[Note: Our preview of the Call of Duty Elite service is live here!] Hours ahead of the agreed-upon embargo for the news, the Wall Street Journal is the first to report on Call of Duty Elite, the long-reported "digital platform" in development at Activision's new Beachhead studio. Designed to complement this fall's Modern Warfare 3, Elite will be a paid service though "portions of the service will be free" including a Facebook-inspired Groups feature. Other features of the service include the Bungie.net-like ability to display stats to analyze player performance, "gauging factors such as which weapons have been most successful for them in killing enemies." If you're worried that you'll suddenly have to pay for online multiplayer in Call of Duty titles, don't be. The Journal reports that "players will still be able to compete against each other online without subscribing to the service." Activision hasn't yet pinned down a price point, though it does expect the cost to be less than comparable "online-entertainment services" like the $8/month Netflix. Part of that fee will go towards a "customer-service operation that will be needed to support it." It will also include the year's map packs, which cost $15 each, taking some of the sting out of any annual charge. [Update: The trailer detailing the entire service has been leaked on YouTube – hat tip @CheapyD – ahead of tomorrow morning's 9am embargo; if the WSJ article left you with some questions, try the video after the break. Still have questions? We'll do our best to answer everything tomorrow morning! Update 2: Looks like Activision pulled the original YouTube trailer but, now that the embargo's up, we added our own version after the break. Click away!]
