Cover-Credits:
- Call of Duty Online will be shutting down in China in August 2021 due to a dip in revenue and player interest.
- There will be a compensation activity and players will be pushed towards Call of Duty: Mobile.
- Players who want to continue playing on PC, will be able to play Call of Duty: Warzone as a free-to-play alternative.
Tencent will be shutting down Call of Duty Online servers later this year. The servers will be taken offline in August 2021 due to the decline in interest in the game. With Call of Duty: Mobile becoming more popular, the studio wants to focus on the newer title. Existing players will be pushed towards COD: Mobile instead. The studio revealed that there has been a decline in revenue as well as player interest, which influenced the decision to close down the servers. There will be some ‘compensation activity’ be carried over from Call of Duty Online to COD: Mobile in any way.
Why is Call of Duty Online Being Shut Down
Call of Duty Online was first introduced in 2015 as a PC title in China after an initial beta in 2012. Just like Call of Duty: Mobile, COD Online is a free-to-play title. Tencent revealed that the decision to shut down the game was influenced by the “declining revenue and the lack of renewal from Activision.” Following the server shutdown in August 2021, Tencent will be pushing players to Call of Duty: Mobile instead.
Call of Duty as a franchise struggled in China due to the region’s distribution laws according to the official statement. Activision found a way to break into the Chinese market by introducing a F2P version of the game which helped generate a sizeable playerbase but due to the decline in interest, the servers will be shut down six years after its release.
Game registrations are closing down today (June 1, 2021), and all existing players will be able to play Call of Duty Online until August.
Activision and Tencent Will be Compensating Players
The official statement by Activision and Tencent revealed that there will be a ‘compensation activity’ in Call of Duty: Mobile. Details have not been revealed yet but Tencent has promised that Call of Duty: Mobile will continue to receive new weapons, maps, and modes similar to how Call of Duty Online received its content updates.
Following the server shutdown, there will no longer be a free-to-play Call of Duty experience for players who want to try out the traditional game modes in the franchise. However, Warzone will continue to be available for players who want to try Activision and Raven Software’s popular battle royale title.
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