Activision will never charge for Call of Duty, says CEO

By Molly McHugh November 24, 2010

Earlier this year, analysts suggested that declining video game sales could be boosted by charging for online gaming. Since then, Call of Duty fans have been anxious to hear whether or not Activision would indeed charge them for multiplayer use online. Executive Bobby Kotick even said in July that if he could change his company in any way, it would be to turn Call of Duty into “an online subscription service tomorrow.”

But rest assured, Kotick won’t be getting his way. Today, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg claimed its users would not be hit with a new bill. Hirshberg told Industry Gamers “The answer is no” when it comes to charging for online multiplayer. Saying the community aspect Call of Duty online brings to its users is “integral,” Hirshberg went so far as to state that there would never be a fee on the service.

The record-breaking success of Call of Duty: Black Ops has clearly been good for Activision’s business, and maintaining friendly relations with its consumers is a smart move for future Call of Duty releases. Announcing that the game’s online multiplayer function remains free of charge mere days before Black Friday also serves as a subtle reminder: the bestselling game is on shelves this holiday season, subscription fee-free.

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Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…

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Activision may be under new ownership at Xbox, but that’s not slowing down its flagship series. After a few years in development, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is finally launching worldwide under the Microsoft banner. It’s a major moment for the shooter series that’s endured multiple industry changes over its long lineage. The new mobile game is the latest evolution for Call of Duty, bringing a high-quality battle royale experience to phones.

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Call of Duty is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. The original Call of Duty set a new standard for first-person shooters, the series' online multiplayer work has been a must-play for gamers for nearly two decades, and Warzone has been one of the top battle royale experiences of late.

The series has covered a lot of warfare, from World War II to futuristic fictional wars in 2187, but never in any set order. Players have been bounced around from era to era with each annual COD release and even revisited the same conflicts multiple times from different perspectives through direct sequels and remakes.

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Gameplay from Call of Duty: Warzone mobile

Activision's popular battle royale game Call of Duty: Warzone is making the jump to mobile in March. Specifically, it launches for iOS and Android devices on March 21.

This is a separate game from Tencent's Call of Duty: Mobile, which is currently available on the App Store and Google Play Store. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is made in-house by several Activision teams, including Beenox, Digital Legends, Solid State Studios, and Shanghai Studios. Further signifying that connection is that Warzone Mobile has shared progression with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and the PC and console versions of Warzone. Payers can level up the same weapons, access content from the BlackCell Battle Pass and store, and gain XP on the same account across all three games. Warzone Mobile will also have full controller support, although it will have a virtual controller overlay that's highly customizable.