Activision and Tencent have announced that the two companies have entered a partnership to bring a new entry in the Call of Duty series to China. Call of Duty Online features microtransaction-fueled customization, which allows players to purchase new weapons, gear, and perks.

“We are very excited about our relationship with Tencent and the opportunities for gaming in China,” says Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.  “We think China is one of the most exciting places in the world for us to grow our business and to develop innovative new games.” Kotick added that this is the beginning of what Activision sees as a long-term relationship between the companies.

“We are thrilled to work with the world’s premiere game developer and publisher to bring this much-awaited title to Chinese game players," says Martin Lau, Tencent's president. "We believe Call of Duty Online will attract tens of millions of loyal fans in China, and our game platform and operational expertise to run massive multiplayer online games can provide strong support to deliver the immersive and highly interactive game experience to game players in China.”

The game features a new storyline based on Spec Ops missions. There's no word on whether the free-to-play PC game will be coming to the West. It will be arriving in China later this year.

Tencent made headlines a few weeks back when it announced that it had acquired a minority stake in Epic Games.