UPDATE 11/10: Please visit http://bit.ly/codelitestatus for the latest operating status of Call of Duty Elite, and check http://bit.ly/elitefaq for more detailed answers about individual Elite elements, such as Founder rewards, console & mobile apps, and the 30-day subscription extension.
[UPDATE 9/6: A lot of information information was revealed at Call of Duty XP this past weekend, so I have incorporated new information and revised several parts of this article, removing outdated data and adding the latest. The official website is still the best source of information.]
In February, Activision announced the formation of Beachhead Studio, a new Activision studio dedicated to, in the words of Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, “an innovative new digital platform and social service for our Call of Duty community”? Their project: Call of Duty Elite, a service for Call of Duty players which will launch this fall, integrated into Modern Warfare 3.
I have been following the project internally for a several months, and this frequently revised article is intended to be a storehouse of verified information and straight talk. I also have an interview with the COD Elite creators from Beachhead, which you can listen to, read in full, or just read the highlights. If you want a quick video, Eric Hirshberg talked with Geoff Keighley about Elite during E3, and his summary is pretty much all you need to know. For frequent updates, check twitter.com/CallOfDutyElite.
This article is constantly being updated so check back often – the short URL is bit.ly/codelite.
Call of Duty Elite is not a game, it’s a service.
Take the best bits of a stat-tracking service, a social network, an interactive strategy guide, and a competitive gaming site, then custom-design all that for the Call of Duty community, and that’s Elite. The three words you’ll hear most often to define the service are Connect, Compete, and Improve — the Elite website offers a little insight into what that means, and the official FAQ goes deeper. You can create custom leaderboards with friends, learn from detailed stats of your entire CoD career performance, consult expert players, join competitive leagues, win real prizes — lots of stuff. There is a video, “The Legend of Karl,” that gives an overview of what Elite will offer here.
Call of Duty Elite will launch alongside Modern Warfare 3 on November 8, 2011.
Elite was designed with MW3 in mind, so it only makes sense that they launch simultaneously. A public beta was launched during the summer and ran from July to October. (More on this later.)
Activision is NOT charging for Call of Duty multiplayer.
Because it needs to be said (over and over, apparently), the COD multiplayer experience you know and love remains exactly as it is now with no additional fees. Elite ties into the multiplayer of both Modern Warfare 3 as well as Black Ops, but that integration is at no cost to you, and nothing is being taken away from the multiplayer experience. Just the opposite — Elite is here to enhance it, and it’s also free.
Activision has its own statement on this from the official FAQ: “The Call of Duty “out of the box” experience that our players expect: a great single player campaign, co-op missions, and the deepest and most accessible multiplayer anywhere — at no additional cost — remains the same as ever. Our promise to you is this: Elite only adds to the Call of Duty experience. Nothing will be taken away from the experience you know and love. If you want to continue to play Call of Duty as you always have, you will still be able to do just that, including the ability to buy Map Packs a la carte. With Call of Duty Elite, we’re adding a new choice for those who want to get even more out of the game. Even haters can play for free.”
LOL.
Call of Duty Elite is free for all players.
The core functionality of Elite is free, and includes everything listed in the Free column here – any Call of Duty player will be able to log in and use any of that stuff for no charge.
There is an optional Premium Membership for $49.99 a year.
For players who want more, an annual $49.99 Premium Membership will get you all the stuff in the Premium column. That price includes all the DLC that will be released for Modern Warfare 3, which will be 20 pieces in all, delivered monthly, and none of it is themes and gamerpics — it’s all in-game content. International pricing should be finalized shortly.
Before that price was announced, Netflix was name-checked as a similar value by the Wall Street Journal. Netflix is $7.99/month. With the final price of $49.99 a year, Elite breaks down to less than $5 a month.
A lot of people were freaked out when they heard “paid Call of Duty content,” but the simplest and best analogy I can think of is television. You can watch NBC, CBS, and ABC all you want, just for the price of buying a TV. However, if you want more — Comedy Central or HBO or NBA League Pass — then you subscribe to a cable or satellite service to get those extra programs. You don’t have to; it’s a question of whether or not you want to see those other shows. If you’re happy with your usual high-quality network television, keep on enjoying it. If you want more content from your TV, you can choose to subscribe to more. Easy.
DLC is included with your Elite membership, or you can buy it as a standalone download.
Says Activision: ”Elite is an all-inclusive membership, and that means you get all of the playable game DLC for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as part of your premium membership. No need to buy additional DLC.” Again, nothing is being taken away and nothing is compulsory — you simply have another choice when it comes to getting DLC. You can buy COD DLC the traditional way — a map pack at a time — or you can automatically get the DLC as part of your Elite premium membership. Chacko Sonny, studio head of Beachhead, makes this extremely clear in an interview that is part of podcast 071: ”If you are the player who wants to purchase DLC seperately, that option is still there — you can go ahead and buy the DLC independent of the premium membership if you want. That said, if you want to purchase the premium membership, get the benefits that will be offered in terms of the features on Elite and get the DLC with it, it will be a great deal for you.”
Elite DLC is permanently owned DLC.
Whether you buy the DLC a la carte or get it as part of your Elite membership, it is yours to keep; the DLC will not deactivate if you decide not to renew your subscription next year. It’s yours to keep as if you had bought it the traditional way.
Elite Premium Members get DLC earlier than non-members.
Elite subscribers will be able to access the DLC before it goes on sale to a la carte purchasers. The window of time has not been disclosed. For PS3 owners, this does not override this business deal that currently brings Call of Duty DLC to Xbox 360 first; that deal is valid through 2012. However, Elite members will get the DLC before the non-Elite members on their respective platforms.
A Premium Membership to Elite is included with the MW3 Hardened Edition.
A standard edition of Modern Warfare 3 will cost $59.99. The Hardened Edition of MW3 will be $99.99 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; it comes with several collectibles for the series’ biggest fans, as well as a one-year subscription to Call of Duty Elite. That’s ten bucks less than buying them seperately, so it’s extra savings on top of the DLC savings. (If you attended Call of Duty XP, you received a redemption code for MW3 Hardened on 360 or PS3– send that in and you’ll get the game when it’s released.)
Early Elite adopters will be granted Founder status.
Founder status will be granted to anybody who signs up for Elite within the first week of its existence — activate before November 13, and you’re a Founder. There are a few perks that go with it — an exclusive group, an XP boost for your clan, a special emblem, an exclusive weapon camo, stuff like that. If that’s of interest, get in early. Alternately, you can use the Founder code that comes on a card in the Hardened Edition of MW3. To my knowledge, there will be no other way to obtain Founder status beyond these two methods.
Your Elite membership gets you DLC on the primary platform of your choice.
Some hardcore gamers have asked if you get DLC on both PS3 and 360 with one Elite subscription. Sorry, no — you get DLC on your choice of primary platform, singular. You can use the free stuff like stat tracking on all platforms, of course, but the DLC is tied to your gamertag or PSN ID, like any traditional DLC purchase would be. If you bought Black Ops DLC maps on PS3, you did not also get them on 360 as well — you would have to buy them for each system separately if you wanted them on two separate systems, because the online stores are run by Sony and Microsoft, and they each want their cut. Same with Elite.
Elite is NOT going to sell players competitive advantages with microtransactions.
If you are worried about someone buying their way into Prestige or Activision selling people special weapons that they wouldn’t normally be able to earn through gameplay, don’t be — that’s not what Elite is about. “We’re not doing anything like that,” Chacko Sonny says. “It’s not part of the plan.” Activision also has an official statement on this: “No, players are not able to buy prestige weapons or levels through Elite. While Call of Duty Elite wants to help people become better players, there’s still only one way to level up to new weapons, XP and prestige, and that’s to earn it in game.” (Also, for clarity, Elite is not the same thing as the COD free-to-play MMO currently being built for China. That’s a completely different project for a completely different country, and that’s the one that will use microtransactions.)
Elite has been in development for two years already.
While Call of Duty Elite has been designed to integrate into Modern Warfare 3, it has been developed over the last two years using live data from Black Ops. Everything you’ve done up to this point in Black Ops has been tracked, logged, and will be waiting for you the first time you get to try Elite for yourself.
You can access Elite from many devices.
One of the goals is to let fans interact with Call of Duty when they’re not able to play it — at lunch, on a bus, whatever. If you’re thinking about it, why not pop in and see what’s new on your stats and leaderboards? The web interface is the most obvious way to access Elite, but mobile clients are in development too (hello, iPad), as are console-specific apps for the PS3 and 360. The Activision version from the FAQ: “We’re designing Call of Duty Elite to be widely accessible and customized for a number of platforms — via web browsers, through the game, and through mobile applications as well – including iPhone and iPad, as well as Android tablets and smartphones.” At XP 2011, the team expressed a desire to also create an app for Windows Phone 7, but said nothing was firm and nobody should expect mobile platforms beyond iOS and Android at launch.
There is already a OneOfSwords group on COD Elite.
“I don’t play online because it’s just a bunch of kids/racists/racist kids” is a big (and fair) complaint I hear about online gaming. Everybody would prefer to play with gamers who share their sensibilities and interests. So, the first thing I started playing with was the Groups function, which lets you find like-minded gamers and communicate with them. Pick any interest — gardening, zombies, juggling, your town, your school, your sports team — and then type it in. Ta da! You’ve joined a group, or created a new one — it’s just that word with a # in front of it. Anybody can join it just by saying “yeah, that’s me too.” Each group shares a comment wall, all their stats, and can easily organize community nights. Naturally I started a OneOfSwords group, which means everybody can see each other’s stats and laugh at mine. And since you can join up to 64 groups at the moment, well, when you get your chance to try Elite, you are required to join my group. And when will that be? Well…
The free public beta for Elite started July 14.
Call of Duty Elite will launch at the same time as Modern Warfare 3 — November 8, 2011, but a public beta will run this summer, starting July 14. Chacko Sonny says this is “not just a teaser, it’s a real beta” — that is, not a beta for marketing purposes the way game betas are sometimes used. The team is looking for how the community uses it and what they like and don’t like, as well as how the service handles the traffic of the COD community.
Since the beta is a real live beta, its schedule is organic and it is moving forward as fast as it is safe to proceed. Project Director Noah Heller says the beta will roll out in waves, so if you don’t get in right away, don’t panic — you’ll have more chances as the summer goes on as they open the beta wider and wider. It turned out that the beta started with Xbox 360 data and will incorporate PS3 data before long. If you are interested and want to try it out ASAP, they’re taking signups at http://www.callofduty.com/elite. Within two weeks, more than two million gamers had signed up. I have a FAQ just about the beta logistics here.
Elite will be customized for PC; it will be free. Release TBD.
In this interview with Eurogamer, Noah Heller said “We’re working really hard right now on the customised version of Elite for the PC, because it’s an open platform and has some challenges.” Dedicated servers, configurable as the admin sees fit, put a lot of power into the hands of PC players, but when it comes to something like Elite, you need to guarantee that the data being reported from the servers is not being altered. That’s the challenge the team faces right now. Clearly, what works for a closed console ecosystem will not work for an open PC ecosystem. It’s strange to think of it as a restriction caused by freedom, but that’s not far off. As a result, the exact PC plan for and implementation of Elite have not yet been announced. Noah and Chacko gave me an update in October that specifically said it’ll be ready when it’s ready.
UPDATE: I’ve fielded several questions from the community on Twitter, so here’s a quick mini-FAQ.
Isn’t this just Bungie.net for Call of Duty?
No, although you have probably spotted some similarities — for instance, Bungie also offered its players post-game stats and heat maps free of charge. However, Elite is going a lot deeper and is integrating the data in a different way, and that might not be clear until you get to try it for yourself. An official Activision quote from the FAQ: “Elite ups the ante of any free service by offering a range of innovations on well-established multiplayer features, such as leaderboards, heat maps, and rich player data.” This, arguably, is at least what Bungie.net offers, and depending on how it’s integrated, Elite might offer even more, still for free. But for sure, nobody on the Elite team is saying they invented heat maps or player stat tracking. Good ideas tend to pop up more than once…because they work and people like them. As long as what you enjoyed from Bungie for free is free in Elite as well — and really, it looks like it is — I don’t see this as a bad thing.
Is everything shown in the Legend of Karl video going to be free?
No — in fact, go to 6:25 in the video and you’ll see a slate that says “Some Call of Duty features mentioned in video require a paid Call of Duty Elite membership.” You may have missed it because the wonderfully distracting lawyer song plays over that section.
I got an email inviting me into the beta but I didn’t get a confirmation that I’m in. What’s up?
Many people got emails inviting them to sign up for the beta, but please don’t mistake that for “you’re in.” It’s more of a reminder that you can’t participate if you don’t volunteer. If you are chosen for the first wave of the beta, you will receive an email closer to the July 14 start date. Even then, you might not be chosen until one of the later waves, but they are going to try to accomodate as many users as possible during the beta. Either way, don’t panic — nobody is actually in the beta yet, so you are not missing out on anything.
Will the beta include everything that I’ll get if I get a membership?
No, because some of the stuff that the membership level of Elite will offer is tied to Modern Warfare 3 specifically, and full info on that game isn’t out yet. So everything you see in the beta will be in the final, but there will be additional things activated at launch.
If I sign up for a premium Elite membership, do I get the DLC cheaper?
Yes. The complete collection of DLC for Black Ops ran roughly $60. The Elite membership promises all the MW3 DLC for ten bucks less than that, plus it will offer more features and options as well.
If I sign up for Elite, can I get the DLC on multiple platforms?
Sorry, no. You get DLC on your choice of primary platform, singular. You can use the free stuff like stat tracking on all platforms, of course, but the DLC is tied to your Xbox Live gamertag or PSN ID, like any traditional DLC purchase would be. Analogy: You can buy a large Coke at McDonald’s, but you can’t take that cup into Wendy’s for a refill — same product, different store. Elite’s DLC discount will be available to members of both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, but like any other content purchase, it does not cross over.
Will Elite support Modern Warfare 2?
Elite was built around Black Ops & MW3 and will support games beyond that, but I am unaware of any plans to integrate it into MW2.
As I’ve said, I will keep updating this document as more information is made available. Stay tuned — bookmark bit.ly/codelite for easy reference.
