Battlefield Getting a Call of Duty Elite-Style Service Makes Perfect Sense

Downloadable content has been one of the most popular trends this generation. Last year Activision tried to find out if a market exists for a subscription service for a non-MMO with Call of Duty Elite. As the latest numbers peg Elite subscriptions -- which cost $50 a year, or were free with Modern Warfare 3's Hardened Edition -- at 2 million, an audience does apparently exist that is willing to fork over money for more than just a la carte DLC. Electronic Arts is now rumored to be preparing a premium service for the Battlefield series which is said to be launching in only a few weeks' time.

Battlefieldo reported on Friday a "very reliable source" had shared with it a timeline for the forthcoming updates Battlefield 3 is receiving. In addition to a mention of a fifth expansion pack (beyond the already released Back to Karkand and the previously announced Close Quarters, Armored Kill, and End Game) is a strategy guide being released in June and, more notably, something called Battlefield Premium.

"Battlefield Premium will land you a number of content drops with unique in-game items not available anywhere else," reads a description provided to Battlefieldo. "First out is the one-of-a-kind Premium knife and black dog tag, plus a set of soldier camos, weapon camos, dog tags and Assignments that will make sure you stand out and get more personalization options."

Neither EA nor DICE have officially confirmed the existence of Premium, which is reportedly scheduled for release on June 4. That date is significant because it is the same day as EA's E3 press conference. It's not difficult to imagine the service being unveiled and released on the same day, particularly if the goal is to have this out before any other DLC packs are released. (Close Quarters is scheduled to be out in June.)

The description Battlefieldo received doesn't make it clear if this service will include the game's downloadable content similar to the way Call of Duty Elite includes all of Modern Warfare 3's DLC. If it's limited only to things like camo and in-game items, that will greatly limit its appeal. As great as all of the extras Elite provides are, it's the DLC that is the main attraction. There is a hardcore set of fans that know they'll be playing the latest Call of Duty game for the next year and will be buying all of its DLC; it only makes good sense to save $10 and get the DLC at a discount, not to mention sooner than they would otherwise. Opting to focus on cosmetic extras and assignments (the latter of which are something I would hope all players get) would be a missed opportunity. It would also be controversial if the exclusive in-game items include anything that can be perceived as giving players with them an advantage. Elite, love it or hate it, does not provide players with weapons, attachments, or perks other players do not have access to.

Regardless of what the particulars are, it's almost a given that we see some kind of subscription service come to Battlefield. Electronic Arts has made digital growth a priority, and it's an area it has seen success in. The combination of The Old Republic subscriptions, Origin, and The Sims Social have done well for the company, and Battlefield is among its biggest brands. Leveraging that with a subscription, even if it isn't going to attract nearly as many players as Elite (which is to be expected, as Elite offers a great deal and Call of Duty has a much larger userbase), would be a natural move.

EA and Activision are not the greatest of friends, yet the job Activision did with Elite has been met with praise even from its greatest rival. Without naming names, CEO John Riccitiello referred to Elite as a "best-in-class performance" during an investors conference call earlier this year. With Battlefield clearly aimed at toppling Call of Duty, it only makes sense to do the same with Elite.

Assuming Battlefield Premium is, in fact, a subscription service as many have presumed, its availability for Battlefield 3 would, unlike the service itself, which is inevitable, be somewhat unexpected. Releasing something like this almost eight months after launch would be peculiar; it would be easier to attract subscribers by coinciding its launch with that of a game, as Activision did with Elite and Modern Warfare 3. For EA it may, however, be preferable to waiting for the launch of the next Battlefield as that is not coming until at least later next year. Medal of Honor Warfighter will launch this fall in the spot Battlefield occupied last year, and support for BF3 will continue on past the one-year mark as evidenced by the End Game DLC being scheduled for release this winter (and the rumored fifth expansion coming sometime after that). EA and DICE may be wanting to get their feet wet in the subscription space before pushing Battlefield Premium much harder with the release of the next game in the series.

The bottom line is, whenever it comes and under whatever name -- I hope 'Battlefield Premium' is only a placeholder -- Battlefield is likely to get the Elite treatment, and it's unlikely to be the last big franchise that can be said of.