Four million subscribers forecasted for Call of Duty: Elite, Service will also have its own web series
Activision, the publisher behind the Call of Duty franchise which includes Modern Warfare, was on the receiving end of some promising news when analysts forecasted that Call of Duty: Elite could reach four million subscribers in 12 months time after its
release.
Call of Duty: Elite is set to be Activision’s answer to a social networking platform aimed at fans of the series and is set for a launch following Modern Warfare 3’s release in November.
The analyst responsible for the data is Jesse Divnich, who works for EEDAR and predicts that the service could even reach 1.5 million subscribers by the end of this year.
Speaking at a press conference, Divnich said, "In terms of the services potential, our current surveys and market research indicate that Call of Duty: Elite could achieve 10 to 20 per cent penetration among Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 purchasers."
He went on to explain that this meant that roughly two to four million subscribers could sign up for the service and also predicted that such a service would be priced at the $5 mark, or $4.99 to be exact.
Divnich however, did go on to mention that the predicted figures depended on the games receiving good reviews from critics.
"It is critical, however, that CoD MW3 achieves critical acclaim as the bulk of subscribers are likely to come from the core gaming community, where review scores can have incredible influence," he added.
Another serious threat that Divnich predicted could hamper the service’s subscription levels was the release of Electronic Arts’ impressive looking Battlefield 3. He explained that in previous years the Modern Warfare series did not have any serious competitors
and that Battlefield 3 could change all that this year.
According to the analyst, if Battlefield was to receive better reviews than Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 3 then a majority of gamers would switch to Battlefield 3 as a result.
Activision however remains confident of the game’s success and confirmed that the long rumoured web TV series will feature as part of the CoD: Elite service. Elite in essence will be a free service however it has been confirmed that will be certain elements
of it that will require paid subscription.
British newspaper The Guardian have reported that Activision are currently searching for candidates interested in producing the show that they hope will go on a gain a major fan following.
Eric Hirshberg, Activision’s Publishing head likened the web series to how fans follow professional sports claiming that sports fans want to remain connected with their passion and that Cod: Elite was just another way to give gamers a chance to connect to
the Cod universe.
More updates on the service are expected at E3 later on the 6th of June.
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