The Call of Duty franchise has sold 56 million console units in the U.S. alone, generated over $4 billion in revenue and saw the latest entry of Call of Duty: Black Ops top $1 billion in revenue in under two months. With all of that revenue and the brand going strong, Activision risks alienating their fan-base with their newly announced subscription service Call of Duty Elite.

“The Call of Duty brand is definitely strong enough to give Activision some room to experiment with an add-on subscription model,” said Jeremy Miller, an analyst with DFC Intelligence. “Activision is walking a very tight line between satisfying hard-core online shooter players, the pick-up-and-play crowd, and investors.”

“From Activision’s perspective, they’re looking at the percentage of Xbox Live hours derived from Call of Duty play, and they’re asking, ‘Why is Microsoft getting $60 a year based on our content ‘” said Michael Cai, VP-research at Interpret. “Activision also wants a way to keep players engaged until the next game comes out. They could offer discounts for new Call of Duty games if you’re a subscriber, for instance.”

The teaser announcement by Activision has fueled gamer rage over its feature and price vagueness, though more details are expected at E3. “By not releasing enough information, Activision has upset consumers who all just hear the term ‘paid subscription service,'” said Paul Tassi, editor in chief of online mag Unreality. “I don’t understand why they decided to release inadequate info now.”

While the complete details could help sooth hurt feelings, it’s still a balancing act providing the right amount of services for the subscription fee. “Many fear that the next step after a ‘premium service’ like this would be charging monthly for online play, a la World of Warcraft. The company ‘swears’ they’ll never do that, but never say never in this industry. If a step that drastic was taken, then yes, I could easily see many jumping ship,” said Tassi. “If it doesn’t affect core game-play, it’s viewed as a dick move vs. a deal-breaker, and I wouldn’t imagine it will significantly impact sales.”

Source: AdAge.com