Beachhead Call of Duty Digital Platform Premiering This Fall

Activision's next Call of Duty game will incorporate the digital and social networking initiatives being developed at its new dedicated Beachhead studio, according to the company. Speaking during the Q&A portion of a Gamasutra-attended conference call Monday, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg confirmed that the Call of Duty "online platform" announced in February will be a part of this fall's installation, saying that it will be "an integral part to the innovation signature of the Call of Duty game that we're releasing this year." Hirshberg also took the opportunity to defend the platform, saying that while it will attempt to deliver new experiences to players, it is "not attempting to monetize or take any experience away that currently comes as part of the value proposition of buying the game." "Our community of Call of Duty players is one that we celebrate, and you will see a lot of new services and capabilities that will be provided free-of-charge to all of our customers," added Activision Blizzard president Bobby Kotick. The company says it will be releasing more details on its "various Call of Duty initiatives" in the coming weeks (presumably at E3, due to be held in early June), and that it will support these initiatives with the largest marketing and retail campaign in the company's history.