We already know that Call of Duty Elite will offer a bunch of features for free, but what we don't know is exactly what we'll be getting if we decide to subscribe to the service. During Call of Duty XP this weekend, Activision unveiled the plans for the service. The cost for a one year subscription is $49.99 and here's what you'll get.
All DLC will be made available to Elite members during the time of active subscription, meaning, when new content is offered, Elite subscribers will get it all without having to pay additional fees. DLC will also be staggered for more frequent releases, specifically, it will be broken into chunks of 20 pieces arriving monthly - this includes maps, modes, and cooperative Spec-Ops missions. Non-premium Elite members must wait for full DLC releases which will happen less frequently, but still offer the same content at an additional price. Though clan support is offered free, Elite clans will have a progression system akin to player progression. This means that players in clans level up their clan over time and can join tournaments. Free Elite members get a limited number of slots for published video and screenshots on their profile, Elite members get 8X more video capacity. Elite members can access strategy and analysis content from Call of Duty pros
On the surface, this seems like a solid deal. Previous Call of Duty games released on average four map packs during their life cycle for $15 each. If you bought each one of those that's an additional $60, while the price of Elite is actually $10 less. Of course one problem created by the strategy for Elite is the complete splintering of their player base because of - the now - three tiers of players (DLC, Elite, Base). Of course when you have well over 2 million players per platform, it might be a non issue.
Call of Duty Elite launches with Modern Warfare 3 on November 8th.
Also launching on November 8th is a brand new Xbox 360 bundle featuring Modern Warfare 3, two controllers, the game and a 320GB hard drive. The uniquely painted and limited bundle will cost $399.99.