Call of Duty Elite Q&A: We ask Activision to clear up some of the confusion

ByScuttlebug

Jun 3, 2011

This week’s reveal of Call of Duty Elite left us – and you, if the comments are any indication – with more questions than answers. So we rounded up Activision VP of Digital Jamie Berger to answer some of the more common questions. For his part, Berger wasn’t shy about acknowledging that confusion. “There’s just going to be confusion,” he told me over the phone. “There’s just so much we’re trying to lay out in front of people at one time. So not at all surprised that we either weren’t clear on some points or people were confused.” The biggest point of confusion was undoubtedly the free aspects of the service, so let’s start there:

What’s free in Call of Duty Elite?
“The whole Career section,” Berger tells me. “All of your stats, the personalized leadersboards, the heatmaps, the weapon stats, the ability to import your Facebook friends … personal best, ability to compare, etc.” This section bears the most resemblance to other offerings in the space, notably Bungie.net, as many of you mentioned. And like the core Bungie.net service, this section of Elite will remain free, including new features that are added to it.

Sounds un-innovative you say? Berger says it’s up to the team at Beachhead to push for “innovation, even in things that have been well established like a heatmap or a leaderboard, where we know there’s room for improvement.” The Career features will be front and center in the beta this summer, so interested parties will have plenty of opportunities to tell Beachhead how innovative they are.

Gallery: Call of Duty Elite