Why You Probably Cant Play the New Call of Duty Game
The biggest experiment in games magnate Activision's history is underway right now. No, it's not Bungie's Destiny, nor Blizzard's latest World of Warcraft expansion. And it's not a resurgent live-streaming version of Guitar Hero, nor is it the world's first toy-game Skylanders MMO. I'm talking about something bigger still, and, ironically, something most of you reading this can't play at all. It's Call of Duty Online, a bona fide free-to-play, PC-only multiplayer version of Activision's popular Call of Duty shooter franchise that's shifting from open beta to what Activision calls a "public open beta" today. The catch it's for China, and China only. Surprised? Don't be. China is a gaming behemoth. The country is home to an estimated 368 million video game players. That's more than the entire population of the United States. The surprise would be a company as affluent and internationally beholden as Activision not launching a major project like this in China. Listen to the most important stories of the day.