14 DAY TRIAL // Bobby Kotick, the Chief Executive Officer of Activision, says that one change he would make at publisher Activision instantly, if he could, would be to create a MMO based around the Call of Duty franchise.
In an interview, Kotick stated, “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,” adding “I think our audiences are clamoring for it. If you look at what they’re playing on Xbox Live today, we’ve had 1.7 billion hours of multiplayer play on Live. I think we could do a lot more to really satisfy the interests of the customers.”
Despite his clear enthusiasm for the concept, the Activision CEO is not ready to officially admit that somewhere a wholly owned studio is working on a Call of Duty MMO. This is not the first time that Bobby Kotick mentions the idea and fans of the series are awaiting a more official announcement in the coming months.
Call of Duty is one of the best known franchises in the world of videogames. Modern Warfare 2 was the best selling title of 2009 and before the implosion of developer Infinity Ward, a new game using the same name was expected to arrive in 2011. This year, Treyarch will be launching Call of Duty: Black Ops, which leaves the familiar battleground of World War II in favor of the various covert operations of the Cold War. The new title is set to arrive in the fall and will face off against Medal of Honor, from DICE and EALA. Activision already has a huge MMO in its backyard, Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.