Ben-DutkaHope China is ready.
Today, Activision Blizzard and Tencent Holdings Limited have announced a partnership that will bring Call of Duty Online to Chinese gamers.
The game has been in development at Activision Publishing for about two years, and with this multi-year agreement, Tencent has the exclusive license to operate Call of Duty Online in mainland China. They'll use a free-to-play format with the addition of microtransactions. Said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick:
"We are very excited about our relationship with Tencent and the opportunities for gaming in China. We think China is one of the most exciting places in the world for us to grow our business and to develop innovative new games.
Tencent is an ideal partner for Activision to bring Call of Duty Online to China. Tencent has a terrific track record of customer-focused innovation and deep market knowledge that will be invaluable to Activision as we build great games for China. We have worked closely with Tencent to create a game with broad appeal for the Chinese market. We look forward to laying the foundation for a long-standing relationship with Tencent and to launching a new and unique experience for fans."
Tencent president Martin Lau added that they're "thrilled to work with the world's premiere game developer and publisher" and Call of Duty Online will "attract tens of millions of loyal fans in China." The game in question will focus on multiplayer (duh), and players will be able to personalize their weapons, characters and equipment "like never before." The in-game store will sell all sorts of goodies, unsurprisingly.
Yep, if Call of Duty isn't considered a global phenomenon yet, it soon will be. Lots of people in China.
Related Game(s): Call of Duty Online
