Tue, Jul 03, 2012 | 15:34 BST
Call of Duty Online confirmed – vid shows MW2, CoD4 maps
Activision and Tencent have confirmed Call of Duty Online for Chinese release. The official site’s here.
The game was first confirmed as being in development in February 2011, when Activision publishing boss Eric Hirshberg mentioned the microtransaction-based title in a financial call.
Call of Duty Online is being made by Activision Shanghai and Raven Software.
It’s a “free-to-play microtransaction first-person action game,” according to Activision.
“Call of Duty Online will showcase the traditional features and play-modes of Call of Duty with localized, unique content tailored to the needs and interest of gamers in China.”
The game will allow players to “enhance their weapons, gear and perks built specifically for the Chinese market.
“The new game will also bring a variety of game modes and maps and features an original story told through a series of Special Operations missions based on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare universe.”
The first video’s below. The footage shows only maps from Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty 4, according to resident expert G1GAHURTZ. No Modern Warfare 3 levels are seen.
“We are very excited about our relationship with Tencent and the opportunities for gaming in China,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “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.”
“Tencent is an ideal partner for Activision to bring Call of Duty Online to China. Tencent has a terrific track record of customer-focused innovation and deep market knowledge that will be invaluable to Activision as we build great games for China.
Martin Lau, president of Tencent, said: “We are thrilled to work with the world’s premiere game developer and publisher to bring this much-awaited title to Chinese game players.
“We believe Call of Duty Online will attract tens of millions of loyal fans in China, and our game platform and operational expertise to run massive multi-player online games can provide strong support to deliver the immersive and highly interactive game experience to game players in China.”
Tencent is also handling Warface, Crytek’s East-based shooter.
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Posted in: Action, Activision Blizzard, PC, Shooter
Tags: Call of Duty Online
27 comments
#1
KAP
03/07/12, 1:27 pm
And so….. it starts.
Sigh.
#2
TheBlackHole
03/07/12, 1:29 pm
Good.
Finally they can separate the online part and focus on making a decent SP experience with a dedicated team.
Sick of SP getting pushed aside for MP. Not everyone wants to spend hours and hours (virtually) killing people.
#3
Colin Gallacher
03/07/12, 1:29 pm
Yup, looks like Cod.
Glad China finally has the ‘epic gaming experience’ though.
#4
Patrick Garratt
03/07/12, 1:29 pm
Why’s it in English?
#5
G1GAHURTZ
03/07/12, 1:29 pm
What?
CoD4 and MW2 maps together in the same game…
I want it here!
#6
Patrick Garratt
03/07/12, 1:32 pm
@5 – Is there MW3 stuff in there as well, or just CoD4 and MW2?
#7
AHA-Lambda
03/07/12, 1:37 pm
Why can’t we get something like this? I’d rather play CoD for free than pay £45 (£80 if you include DLC!) per year
#8
Patrick Garratt
03/07/12, 1:38 pm
@7 – I suspect it’s just a matter of time.
#9
GoingPostal13
03/07/12, 1:38 pm
You’re happy to pay-per-bullet?
#10
G1GAHURTZ
03/07/12, 1:56 pm
@Pat:
No MW3. Just CoD4 and some MW2.
At least one of the MW2 maps appears to have been re-skinned, too.
#11
OrbitMonkey
03/07/12, 1:57 pm
Is it launching in China to combat the rampant piracy, or are they more accepting of this type of gaming?
#12
Patrick Garratt
03/07/12, 1:58 pm
@10 – OK. Cheers.
#13
AHA-Lambda
03/07/12, 2:04 pm
@11 – probably both, F2P has gotten HUGE in asia.
#14
DSB
03/07/12, 2:15 pm
@11 Both. They want the chinese market because duh, there are lots of chinese people, but releasing anything but free to play wouldn’t be efficient.
Look at the US, there are lots of people who can barely afford to spend 5 dollars on a F2P title. In China, that can be said for the vast majority.
#15
G1GAHURTZ
03/07/12, 2:48 pm
^ Not quite…
http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/12/chinas-online-game-market-surges-set-to-top-8-billion-by-2014/
Pretty much all of the big Western devs have been trying to tap into the Chinese online market for a good few years now, AFAIK.
#16
digmouse
03/07/12, 3:01 pm
Most famous MW and MW2 maps are in, the graphics doesn’t get any visible upgrades though.
But even a crappy and broken MP like CoD is still way better than most CS-copy F2P shooters on the Chinese market.
#17
G1GAHURTZ
03/07/12, 3:17 pm
/re-reads story
Woo hoo!
I am expert!
#18
OrbitMonkey
03/07/12, 3:33 pm
^ I expect to see you on MasterMind
#19
G1GAHURTZ
03/07/12, 3:37 pm
LOL!
Sadly enough, CoD might actually be my best specialist subject…
#20
Patrick Garratt
03/07/12, 3:38 pm
Added some detail there. It’s being made by Raven and Acti Shanghai.
#21
DSB
03/07/12, 3:39 pm
@15 I probably should’ve been clearer on what I meant. I’m not saying the market isn’t hugely profitable, I’m just saying you wouldn’t get as far with a full priced game. People just don’t have the same kind of money.
Blizzard actually had to cut their subscriptions down to three day passes. That’s saying something.
I think the proportionality from that article says as much too. Tencent makes 1.4 billion. That’s really nothing compared to EA pulling something like 3-4. It’s not exactly the holy grail, even if it is a hugely attractive market.
I’m pretty sure China is only going to get richer though.
#22
Ireland Michael
03/07/12, 3:45 pm
“It’s a “free-to-play microtransaction first-person action game,” according to Activision.”
Lawl. If its anything like the free-to-play Battlefield games, it’ll be a fuckingg mess.
China only? Huh.
#23
JRNO
03/07/12, 4:33 pm
Who needs Call of Duty: Online when you have ‘Glorious Mission’?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebiiH5sUeSM&;
#24
Moonwalker1982
03/07/12, 8:08 pm
WTF is this now…
where did this come from all of a sudden? When will CoD ever stop, sigh.
#25
Lewis247
03/07/12, 11:04 pm
This literally is the multiplayer portion of mw2. Fucking look at it!!! Why are people asking for this!? Go out and buy mw2 for £/$ 5 and shut the hell up if your that desperate.
The moment call of duty turns into a FTP game is the moment I will hold close my copy of COD2 and weep for what has been done
#26
Ireland Michael
03/07/12, 11:09 pm
@25 It’s China only right now. I don’t even know I’d they have CoD2 available legally in the country.
“Service” products are huge in China because of the huge amount of counterfiet good on the Chinese market. This is the best way for them to get around the problem.
#27
ingre
12/07/12, 11:41 am
WTF Activision again leave us, mw2 was a pretty shit without servers(no admin only Gl and akimbo…) and now they create a Call Of Duty which a lot of fans wanted and we won’t play it and finally we look like idiots!!