Everything you need to know about Call Of Duty Elite.

Will I have to subscribe to Elite in order to play Call of Duty online? No. “It’s worth repeating,” said Berger during the reveal event, “Call of Duty does not and will not charge for multiplayer – that is our continued commitment to our players.” Berger also reiterated the fact that some elements of Elite will be free to Modern Warfare 3 buyers, including the career stats and groups elements.

How can Activision justify charging for a social networking service? Well, Elite will have already cost millions of dollars to set up. Activision has formed a new development studio, Beachhead, to create the system. Berger also stated that the publisher is employing “a standalone service team to provide worldwide 24/7 customer service for Elite members”. That all costs money.

If map packs are included in the Elite subscription, does that mean I’ll have to subscribe in order to get DLC from now on? No, you’ll be able to buy Modern Warfare 3 map packs without subscribing.

Will the service begin with MW3? Yes, but it’s also backwards compatible, to some extent, with Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2. These titles will feature a more limited version of Elite.

Is Elite multi-platform? Yes, the service will work with PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the Call of Duty titles.

Will I be able to access my Elite account from different devices? Yes, according to Berger: “The Beachhead team has adopted a philosophy that we call ‘the four screens’. The idea is, when we launch Elite, it will be customised for mobile applications, on the television itself and within the game interface.” An iPhone app is apparently launching later in the year.

If this is a success, will other publishers follow suit? If there’s the possibility of a new revenue stream, other publishers are bound to develop similar models. Electronic Arts, for example, is already experimenting with monitised multiplayer gaming, via its Online Pass system, which charges a one-off fee to buyers of pre-owned games who want to play online. The thing is, Call of Duty is one of the biggest entertainment brands in the world, and it has a vast, loyal user-base. As Activision pointed out during its London preview event, all four of the Call of Duty titles released between 2007 and 2010 are in the top ten most played Xbox Live titles. It’s doubtful whether there are many other franchises that have the brand loyalty and mass appeal to support a similar proposition. But this time next year, if Activision is raking in millions of extra dollars from its Elite community, don’t rule out a surge of similar announcements…

And here’s a very funny video walkthrough of the platform.