14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts has admitted that it’s currently considering the implementation of subscription models into some of its games, while emphasizing that it’s not really trying to compete with Activision’s Call of Duty series.
Call of Duty Elite was launched last year as a subscription-based service that compliments the multiplayer in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. While the idea seemed peculiar at the time, it became extremely popular and very profitable for Activision.
As you can imagine, this success has piqued the interest of other gaming companies.
According to EA’s Games label boss, Patrick Soderlund, the company is exploring this subscription-based idea, although it can’t say for sure where it might lead.
"I think it's fair to say that we're looking at that," he told Venture Beat. "Like all other companies, we're looking at how we can maximize our investment in this and get the most out of our investment and get more people playing this product. That may take us to different places, but we're not really talking about where that is yet."
Other EA executives, including its CEO, John Riccitiello, and COO, Peter Moore, have also expressed their admiration for Call of Duty Elite, so you know that EA will definitely try to replicate that success with new services.
In terms of the actual competition between EA and Activision’s Call of Duty, Soderlund emphasizes that the company won’t try to directly compete with its rival, preferring to cater to its own niche of the first person shooter genre.
"When it comes to taking Call of Duty down, you know what? I don't look at it like that," he revealed. "We are in this business because we want to make the best possible products. Call of Duty is a shooter, but it's a different shooter. And I think they have a market; we have a market. I'm fine with what I'm doing. I'm going to continue innovating and doing as best as I can with my teams. Hopefully that's going to lead us to more units [sold] and more happy consumers."
EA is set to deliver a new first person shooter this holiday season, in the form of Medal of Honor: Warfighter, which is going to appear a few weeks before Activision’s next Call of Duty title.