Activision is hoping its recent decision to make its stat-tracking and community service, Call Of Duty Elite, free will allow a wider audience to engage with the game's large following.
The service was available as either a free or paid premium model for last year's Modern Warfare 3, with paid members receiving all downloadable content for free as part of the membership fee.
All Call Of Duty gamers will now have access to Elite and all of its features, including those available exclusively to paid members for Modern Warfare 3, when it relaunches alongside Black Ops 2 next month.
Activision chief executive, Eric Hirshberg, says the decision paves the way for a better overall Elite experience.
"The best thing for our business is to keep our players engaged," he said.
With only part of the service available to non-paying members, opening the experience to more gamers will be "better both for our players and for us," according to Mr Hirshberg.
With the main goal of Elite to create a community feel, Mr Hirshberg said Activision didn't feel that was possible with a paid subscription.
"Elite has more value as a community-wide platform to drive engagement and connectivity than as a paid, members-only service."
What do you think of Activision's changes to the Elite subscription model?
Source: Venture Beat
By Gaetano Prestia