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Activision's Hirshberg Says CoD Multiplayer Will Always Be Free
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has made it clear that he loves the idea of gamers paying a subscription fee for Call of Duty's multiplayer component. Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg feels differently.
In an interview with IndustryGamers, Hirshberg shot down Kotick's ongoing scheme. "Are we going to be charging for multiplayer? The answer is no. The experience you have out of the box, connecting with the online community to play Call of Duty is absolutely integral to the experience and we'll never charge for that. It's not going to be something we'll attempt to monetize; it's part of the package."
Hirshberg also responded to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter's recent predictions that Activision would introduce a subscription to the series. "He's probably looking at meta-trends in the world and in culture about online services and new ways things should be monetized from Netflix to cloud-based computing. ...But at the end of the day, all I'm trying to get across is I can unequivocally say we will never, ever charge for the multiplayer."
We're not sure which CEO would have final say on the matter -- or if they would have to fight to the death to settle the dispute -- but based on Hirshberg's strong wording, it appears that the decision has been made. I guess gamers have one more thing to be thankful for this weekend.
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