With the eighth title in the series scheduled for release this year, it is about time for Call of Duty to get refreshed with new ideas and innovations that would help keep the franchise fresh.
The good news is: Activision seems to share that belief. The bad news is: the new ideas they are considering are not as hardcore as most fans would hope.
In a conference call, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg revealed that Call of Duty "online platform" will be part of the upcoming Call of Duty game and that its digital and social networking features are "an integral part to the innovation signature of the Call of Duty game that we're releasing this year."
Hirshberg then defended the platform, assuring that it will be used to provide a better experience and "not attempting to monetize or take any experience away that currently comes as part of the value proposition of buying the game."
"Our community of Call of Duty players is one that we celebrate, and you will see a lot of new services and capabilities that will be provided free-of-charge to all of our customers," Activision Blizzard president Bobby Kotick concluded.
The new online platform is being developed at its new dedicated Beachhead studio.
Activision Blizzard announced that it will release more details about "various Call of Duty initiatives" in the coming weeks (most probably at E3, in June), and that it will support those initiatives with the largest marketing and retail campaign in the company's history.
