Speaking last week at the BMO Capital Markets Conference, Activision Blizzard CEO* Thomas Tippl stated that Actvision is looking to monetize the multiplayer component of more of their games. While he acknowledged that it would be difficult to replicate World of Warcraft’s subscription model, they are looking to implement “new monetization models” for its other games soon.
“We have great experience also on Call of Duty with the success we had on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. A lot of that knowledge is getting built into the Battle.Net platform and the design of that,” said Tippl.
“I think it’s been mutually beneficial, and you should expect us to test and ultimately launch additional online monetization models of some of our biggest franchises like Call of Duty.”
“Our gamers are telling us there’s lots of services and innovation they would like to see that they’re not getting yet. From what we see so far, additional content, as well as all the services Blizzard is offering, is that there is demand from the core gamers to pay up for that,” concluded Tippl.
The removal of dedicated server support gives Activision more control over the online component of Modern Warfare 2 (MW2), and many gamers fear that Activision will make the multiplayer component of MW2 subscription-based. This remains highly unlikely however, as it will be difficult to defend introducing such terms after the release of the game from a legal perspective.
It is more likely that Activision will begin selling value added services that players can use in multiplayer mode. These could include new items, maps, game modes and outfits, although the implications of purchasable content for the gameplay are complex and potentially problematic.
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*Correction: CFO
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