Activision has been talking about a microtransactions-based Call of Duty game for the Asian market for years, and it’s finally becoming a reality with the upcoming Call of Duty Online.
Call of Duty Online has been in development within Activision for more than two years, and is set within the Modern Warfare universe. The publisher has aligned with Tencent Holdings Limited to roll out Call of Duty Online, specifically targeted at Chinese players.
This free-to-play version of Call of Duty will allow players to customize weapons, characters, and equipment. In addition to multiplayer modes, there will be Special Operations missions.
“We think China is one of the most exciting places in the world for us to grow our business and to develop innovative new games,” said Activision CEO Bobby Kotick in the release.
I’ve asked Activision if there’s any chance Call of Duty Online will be released outside of China (nothing yet), but Call of Duty Elite seems like Activision’s current path to extract more money out of fans. Never say never, though.