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Activision Boss: Free To Play COD Games Made The Franchise ‘Stronger’
Call of Duty is one of the most impressive franchises in gaming history, there’s no doubt about that. It spans a twenty-year lifecycle and there are no signs of it slowing down any time soon. With each passing year and every new release, it hits fresh milestones, breaks records, and entertains tens of millions of gamers the world over. In a recent interview, the President of Activision, Rob Kostich, explained how one major turning point truly changed the face of the franchise.
In 2019, Call of Duty Mobile was released as a free-to-play game – the first in the history of COD. It turned out to be a monumental success, effortlessly soaring past 500 million downloads. Then, just a year later, Activision launched Call of Duty Warzone, one of the best battle royale games, and again, it became an overnight success. This pivot towards more free-to-play titles bolstered Call of Duty’s already impressive levels of success – and it continues to do so today, according to Rob Kostich.
Are Free To Play Call of Duty Games The Future?
Image Credit: Activision
In the interview with VentureBeat, Kostich recognises that the series saw massive growth around the time of Modern Warfare 2’s release, back in 2009. That’s widely considered to be the best Call of Duty game of all time, and since then, nothing has been released with the same weight behind it. Well, except for something like Black Ops II, maybe – that boasts one of the best multiplayer platforms COD has ever seen, and it was more or less the birth of Call of Duty esports.
But speaking on the free-to-play operating model, Kostich had nothing but good things to say:
‘It certainly has been proven to be true – our business is stronger than ever. What we’ve seen over the last few years has been incredible. The engagement that we’re driving and the connections we’re able to make around the world, has been fantastic. Also, through free to play, we’ve opened up new markets, whether it’s India, whether it’s Latin America, whether it’s Asia. It just made the brand more global and creates an opportunity for us to have even greater impact as we head into the future.’
With games like Warzone and Call of Duty Mobile, Activision has opened up new avenues of opportunity – and the firm has wasted no effort in milking those opportunities for every cent. But does it end with those two games?
Related: How to Play the Modern Warfare 3 Beta
Will Core COD Games Ever Be Free?
Kostich referenced that expanding into free-to-play markets was good for the brand and the business overall. He explained that he’s focused on getting ‘the most people possible having fun with Call of Duty around the world,’ and most of that has already been accomplished by making these games as accessible as possible. There’s one driving reason why Call of Duty Warzone remains so popular, and that’s the fact that it’s free to consume on any platform, at any time.
It might be an unfortunate revelation for some, but the lights need to be kept on somehow. Kostich confirmed that there are three thousand developers working on Call of Duty all around the world. He also stressed that there are plans for Call of Duty games until 2027 – and beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess. That kind of operation needs a lot of financing.
So, while Kostich recognises the value of free-to-play COD games, it’s unlikely the core multiplayer experience will drop the price tag anytime soon.
Stay tuned to Esports.net for more Call of Duty news
