Call of Duty Elite was introduced with the launch of Modern Warfare 3. The premium service for everything Call of Duty was Activision's experiment to extend the product outside the boundaries of the game while providing a premium service for fans of the series. It also provided regular content updates which were also sold as premium DLC to non-subscribers of the $60 service. For the most part, it seems Elite was successful, but perhaps it was a bit confusing and burdensome for the more casual player.
Today Activision has announced that you won't need to renew your subscription to the service, as Call of Duty: Elite will be free moving forward. There is a catch of course - you'll no longer have early access to DLC. It seems splitting the player base was a bad idea.
This time around Black Ops 2 will be getting four "epic" pieces of DLC for $15 each. There will also be a season pass option available for $50, saving you $10 of the individual price of the content. So what exactly is included with Call of Duty: Elite now?
As a free service for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the Call of Duty Elite platform will continue to evolve as the definitive Call of Duty headquarters, with the inclusion of new and enhanced features such as:
Player HQ – Track Call of Duty: Black Ops II performance with rich game statistics, including enhanced match information such as heat maps and recent match data; track challenges and extensively modify your classes like never before using Treyarch’s new Pick 10 Create-a-Class system.
Clan HQ – Join an existing clan or start your own, invite friends and then take part in Call of Duty: Black Ops II clan competitions with cool digital prizing.
Zombies Support – For the millions of Zombies fans out there, now you can track your Zombies personal statistics and compare it to other players’ around the world.
Call of Duty Elite TV – Launching with tablet support with Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the new Call of Duty Elite TV will deliver a renewed community focus featuring developer tips and strategy programming, custom class overviews and more.
Social Sharing and Notifications – With Call of Duty Elite’s new notification system, you can stay updated with what is going on in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, as well as communicate directly with your clan.
Co-Op fans should be extra excited to see that the zombie mode is getting a dedicated section in Elite for stat tracking and more.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 launches on November 13th on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. It launches on November 18th for the Wii U. It's unclear whether or not the Wii U version will have a dedicated Elite App like the consoles. All four platforms feature four player online co-op.