Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Activision has officially announced plans to amplify the social aspects of the top selling Call of Duty series with Call of Duty: Elite, a digital platform under development by Beachhead Studios, which aims to let online gamers "connect, compete and improve" the franchise's much-loved mulitplayer experience.

"Call of Duty Elite has been tailored for Call of Duty's diverse base of players — hardcore gamers, casual weekend warriors and even beginners — and additional features will be revealed when we premiere Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer later this summer," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing.  "Over 7 million gamers play Call of Duty online each day logging hundreds of hours of multiplayer per player per year.  Of course, the out of the box Call of Duty multiplayer experience that gamers have come to love and expect will continue as is.  However, for those players looking for more, Call of Duty Elite will supercharge their experience."

What it comes down to is a service which aims to connect gamers, provide a platform for competitive multiplayer, and provide players with the tools and data to analyse and track their performance.

From the press release:

• Connect: "Players can compete against friends, players of similar skill levels and players with similar interests, join groups, join clans, and play in organised tournaments. They can also track the performance, progress and activity of their entire network, both in the game itself, as well as through mobile and web interfaces."
• Compete: "Players will have available a constant stream of events and competitions, tiered to group them with those with similar abilities .  Both in-game and real-world prizes will be rewarded to all skill levels.
• Improve: "It can show gamers how they stack up against their friends or others in the community. Tools and information are provided so players can learn and up their game. Carrying forward to future Call of Duty games, Elite will chronicle a player’s gameplay history in a cohesive career record, keeping track of every kill, every game and progress.

While there have long been murmurings in the gaming world of plans by Activision to monetize the multiplayer aspect of Call of Duty, you'll be glad to know that the key elements of Call of Duty: Elite will be freely available, including multiplayer.

There will, however, be a premium subscription option for those who really want the full Call of Duty experience, offering "a wide range of state-of-the-art services, exclusive entertainment programming and all-inclusive game content for less than the cost of any comparable online entertainment service currently in the market."

Call of Duty: Elite will launch this spring alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, with pricing for the premium service still to be announced. In the meantime, check out the announcement trailer which outlines the service's features, and keep a look out for the beta which will be launched sometime this winter.

Update: The Call of Duty Elite site has launched and is taking registration for the closed beta later this year. Sign-up over here.

If the speculated $8 per month turns out to be true, do you think you'll sign up for Call of Duty: Elite? What would they have to offer to make it worthwhile? Let us know in the comments...