Call of Duty: Elite is a free/subscription-based service created by Beachhead Studios for the multiplayer portion of Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision and released worldwide on November 9, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii consoles, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Announced on April 30, 2010,...

and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games, with Raven Software having assisted in development...

. Much like Bungie.net and Battle.net

Battle.net

Battle.net is a gaming service provided by Blizzard Entertainment. Battle.net was launched in November 30, 1996 with the release of Blizzard's action-RPG Diablo. Battle.net was the first online gaming service incorporated directly into the games that make use of it, in contrast to the external...

, the service features lifetime statistics across multiple games as well as a multitude of social-networking options. It was announced initially by the Wall Street Journal and was showcased at E3 2011 by Activision

Activision

Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...

. The subscription based portion of Elite is priced at $49.99 USD per year for all the free features including exclusive premium features such as monthly downloadable content

Downloadable content

Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...

, daily competitions with virtual and real life prizes, the ability to level up your clan, pro analysis and strategies, Elite TV, and more.

Call of Duty: Elite has a console

Video game console

A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...

 app for the Xbox 360

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 and PlayStation 3

PlayStation 3

The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 versions of the game. The console app allows users to access Call of Duty: Elite on their consoles. Elite also has a mobile app which allows users to access Call of Duty: Elite on their smartphones such as the iPhone

IPhone

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

 and Android. In addition to this Elite also has Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

integration which allows users with Facebook accounts to see their Facebook friends when they come online to any Call of Duty title and allows them to invite their friends to a lobby from the Facebook app. The public beta was released on July 14, 2011 on the Xbox 360 exclusively for Black Ops. Invites for the PS3 version began being sent out on September 19, 2011. To get into the beta, users would sign up at the Call of Duty: Elite website, after which they would be emailed telling them that they had been accepted. The beta ended on October 18, 2011, however, Activision stated that "Players can be confident that all beta activity carries over when Call of Duty: Elite officially launches on November 8th."

Call of Duty: Elite officially launched on November 8, 2011 to coincide with the release of Modern Warfare 3. The PC version however, will be delayed for an unknown date. In a statement by Beachhead Studios' studio head, Chacko Sonny, the PC version needs to "Ensure a safe PC environment. It’s really extensive. We need more time to get there, so Elite on PC will not launch on Day 1."

History

Elite was met with intermittent service following the release of Modern Warfare 3. Since November 8, 2011, the service has been down for most users. Beachhead Studios has acknowledged that the console app has seen unprecedented demand and has thus caused many of the outages currently experienced. After various problems on and around release, Activision decided to automatically extend every paying members' subscription by 30 days. Activision also stated that the service will be fully operational to both free and premium users by December 1, 2011.