Kotick plays down COD subscription claims

With an air of mystery still surrounding Activision’s new Call of Duty studio ‘Project Beachhead’ and its long-term roadmap for the shooting franchise, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has played down the possibility of a subscription-based extension to the brand.

"You know, honestly, we don’t really spend a lot of time thinking about how do you convert this Call of Duty experience to a subscription model," Kotick told CNBC.

"What we really spend time thinking about is how do you create really compelling Call of Duty experiences that are going to delight our audiences, and usually people are willing to pay for the content if you deliver them something spectacular? Which is out intention."

On Wednesday Activision announced an online-only addition to the Call of Duty universe that will be free-to-play and "bring online experiences and console play together for the first time".

Back in June 2010 The Wall Street Journal asked Kotick if you could snap your fingers, and instantly make one change in your company what would it be?”.

His answer?

I would have Call of Duty be an online subscription service tomorrow. When you think about what the audience’s interests are and how you could really satisfy bigger audiences with more inspired, creative opportunities, I would love to see us have an online Call of Duty world. I think our players would just have so much of a more compelling experience.”

I think our audiences are clamouring for it. I think we could do a lot more to really satisfy the interests of the customers. I think we could create so many things, and make the game even more fun to play."