Yesterday the news broke that the rumoured Activision Call of Duty online monetisation service is a reality. Named Call of Duty Elite, it will provide a social networking and content distribution platform for Call of Duty fans. Certain elements will be free of charge, and access to the full service will cost an undisclosed monthly subscription fee.
We now have our first look at Call of Duty Elite through a batch of screenshots.
A quick recap of what the service offers for those who missed the news (further detail here), and then a rundown of the screenshots and evident features. All screenshots can be enlarged.
Call of Duty Elite features recap
• Call of Duty community centric social networking platform
• Matchmaking against friends, similarly skilled community members, those with similar interests
• System to create and maintain clans, groups, tournaments
• Extensive statistic tracking, down to minute detail and across all Call of Duty titles supporting Elite
• Statistic measurement and comparison with other community members and friends
• Elite will provide a constant stream of events and competitions, matching players with those of similar skill: real world and in-game prizes
• Premium service to offer entertainment programming and game content
• Call of Duty Elite will launch alongside Modern Warfare 3 on 8 November 2011
Call of Duty Elite screenshots analysis
Leaderboard
Leaderboard tracker showing career statistics for ‘All Time’, ‘Monthly’ and ‘Weekly’. Minimum participation is indicated at the bottom: 25 matches for ‘Monthly’ and 5 for ‘Weekly’, for each game type.
The standard game types are represented here: Team Deathmatch; Free for All; Domination; Headquarters; Demolition; and Deathmatch. I’m assuming that there is a mistake in this screenshot mockup, as it displays Team Deathmatch twice, and Deathmatch is the obvious missing mode.
Note the menu options on the left, with ‘Career’, ‘Connect’, ‘Compete’ and ‘Improve’.
On the right side players have sub-menu tabs to select which overview they would like displayed: Career Summary; Recent Matches; Custom Classes; Personal Bests; Leaderboard Tracker; Weapon Performance; My Theater.
Career Player Card
The Career player card showing all sorts of statistics such as overall win percentage, kill/death ratio, total experience points, and in-game currency earnings.
Note the community competition advertised at the top. Compete in a Domination tournament and win a Call of Duty Elite T-shirt. We expect prizes like this will only apply to US/European players.
Recent Matches
Career card showing recent matches and statistics from those matches. Along the top is a match timeline. An overview map on the right shows where the player made kills and was killed on the map, and right below are pertinent statistics. There is also a timeline showing when kills and deaths occurred during the match. Note the Custom Classes displayed at the bottom of the page.
Compete Event Guide
Under the ‘Compete’ menu we have a list of events and game mode challenges which can be played to win prizes, both in-game and real world. Here the previously mentioned Domination challenge is displayed, challenging the player to make the most captures during Domination games.
On the right side there are sub-menu tabs, giving a hint at the types of events that will be available: Featured Event; Events; Lone Wolf Operations; Team Operations; Your Program Guide.
Theater
Under the ‘Theater’ tab, we can see a video channel, similar in style to what we would expect from YouTube. In fact, judging from this screenshot, it looks as if the video steam might be pulled directly from YouTube. It remains to be seen if this is the case, as Activision plans to provide ‘premium entertainment programming’ for subscribers. Perhaps they will have some sort of content hosting agreement with YouTube.
This will likely also be a place for community members to upload and share their own Call of Duty videos, and leave comments – again, similar to how YouTube users each have their own channel merely by signing up for the service.
Groups
The ‘Groups’ menu under the ‘Connect’ feature, an example of the social networking aspect of Elite. This appears to be one of the places through which Elite users will join up with groups that match their interests, and where they will come to discover new groups. Similarity to Facebook immediately springs to mind here.
Improve
Under the ‘Improve’ menu we appear to have guides on how to improve one’s game and suggestions on equipment load outs.
On the right side, we have sub-menus for the various areas in which players can strive to improve: Maps; Primary Weapons; Secondary Weapons; Attachments; Lethal/Tactical Equipment; Perks; Killstreaks; Games Modes.
Improve Map Overview
Again under the ‘Improve’ menu, we are looking at a strategic evaluation of the ‘Kowloon’ map in ‘Headquarters’ mode. Advice on how to approach the map is given, and the Headquarters point are marked.
Improve Attachments
Under ‘Improve’ we are looking at the ‘Attachments’ sub-menu. The Red Dot attachment is selected, showing an overview of the how the attachment improves one’s game, how much it costs with in-game currency, and how far along one is with unlocking the various achievements associated with the attachment.
That concludes the analysis of the Call of Duty screenshots we have so far. Call of Duty Elite is now open to beta sign-ups for those who can’t wait to test out the service.
Having had a good look at these Call of Duty Elite screenshots, do you think it is a service that Call of Duty player will get behind? Which features do you think are worth paying a monthly subscription for?
Let us know your thoughts in the Comments section below or on the MyGaming forum.
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