Activision plans to take greater advantage of the money-making opportunities afforded by online game-play, having referred specifically to the Call of Duty franchise.

"We ... see strong opportunities to monetize online gameplay", uttered Activision's CEO of publishing, Mike Griffith, during Activision Blizzard's analyst day on Monday. "The average Call of Duty player has spent nearly five full 24-hour days of their lives online since purchasing the game.

"Over time, we'll qualify more opportunities to increase the monetization of these activities."

Griffiths elaborated on "plans to increase online monetization" with CoD: World at War. The company will offer, "3x the amount of content available for download and premium content called 'Day One Advantage.'"

Asked later what that actually is, Griffiths said, “What Day 1 Advantage gives you is the ability to accelerate your experience points.” That sounds suspiciously like you'll be able to pay real cash to enhance your performance...

Presumably, Activision has learned from EA's experience with Battlefield and won't attempt to charge for the likes of weapons.

He pointed to the long tail effect, in which strong online play drives retail sales. "Continuing to engage consumers online with Call of Duty [4] is a large part of the reason you still see the title selling for $59.99 in stores and the absence of any used games in the market for Call of Duty", Griffiths said.

He also confirmed that, as was widely expected, Infinity Ward will be developing CoD6. Of the date, Griffiths said, “for calendar year 2010, Infinity Ward is already at work on the next instalment in the franchise.” It is being widely reported that 2009 was also mentioned - presumably referring to the fiscal year.

^{Sources:
Edge Online
GameCyte}