14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher Activision Blizzard has registered a number of new Internet domain names that are linked to the Call of Duty franchise, the upcoming Black Ops II and the state of China, suggesting that it might be ready to deliver a serious promotional effort based around them.
The registration has been done via a brand protection agency, called MarkMonitor, and includes both Call of Duty titles and Chinese phrases as seen through their English spelling.
The list of domains that the publisher has managed to register so far includes:
anheixingdong.com anheixingdong.net blackopschina.com blackopschina.net blackopsonline.net bochina.net callofdutychina.com callofdutychina.net heisexingdong.com heisexingdong.net jueshengshike.com jueshengshike.net modernwarfarechina.com modernwarfarechina.net modernwarfareonline.net xiandaizhanzheng.com xiandaizhanzheng.net
Activision has not offered an exact explanation for the registrations or for how it chose which names to use.
China will play an important part in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops II, with the player asked to battle the forces of the Asian state.
This will take place in the near future section of the first-person shooter and the fact that the game portrays a Chinese state with global ambitions, which bans the export of rare earth materials to the United States, will not win it many fans in the country.
Activision presumably wants to use the websites to launch a promotional effort for the game, perhaps creating a complex backstory for the conflict between the United States and China.
The next Call of Duty will heavily feature drones and robotic vehicles, with main villain Raul Menendez set to take them over in order to try and achieve his own chaotic goals.
For the first time, Black Ops II will deliver branching missions and the possibility of permanent death.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II will be launched on the PC, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 on November 13 all over the world.