Get ready, Chinese shooter fans, for some free-to-play Call of Duty action, thanks to a new partnership between Activision Blizzard and Tencent Holding Limited (a leading Chinese ISP). They’ve just announced that COD Online will be coming soon to a computer near you!
Call of Duty Online has been in development for over two years, and under the multi-year agreement with Activision Publishing, Tencent has the exclusive license to operate it in mainland China. No money will be required to join in on the fun, although microtransactions will feature throughout.
“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.”
Kotick continued, “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. We have worked closely with Tencent to create a game with broad appeal for the Chinese market. We look forward to laying the foundation for a long-standing relationship with Tencent and to launching a new and unique experience for fans.”
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.”
Expect a familiar experience, but with more focus on customization - weapons, characters, and equipment can all be enhanced through purchases in the in-game store. No word on pricing yet, but we hope they don’t start nickel and diming everyone to death. Also look forward to new game modes, maps, and an original story told through a series of Special Operations missions based on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare universe.
