Activision is aiming at increasing its Call of Duty community in a very big way. Activision recently announced Call of Duty Elite, a new service for Call of Duty fans that comes with a whole host of social networking options attached. Well, now Activision has unveiled something else brand new to go along with Call of Duty Elite and that is Call of Duty XP 2011, a new convention that Activision is dubbing, “a celebration for the game’s community.”
All set to take place on a 12-acre compound in Los Angeles from September 2nd through the 3rd, Call of Duty XP 2011 will serve as a coming-out party for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3‘s multiplayer mode. It is expected that nearly 6,000 attendees will be able to get their gaming paws on Modern Warfare 3‘s cooperative Spec Ops and competitive, team-based multiplayer modes. In addition to that, gamers will also get a chance to check out the fully functioning Elite service for the first time ever.
Aside from the reveal of Call of Duty Elite and the multiplayer modes for Modern Warfare 3, the convention will also play host to a $1 million Call of Duty tournament where players will be able to qualify on site or by competing in regional Black Ops contests leading up to Call of Duty XP 2011. In addition to that, there will also be paintball competitions on a life-sized multiplayer map, “AAA live entertainment” and panels with Call of Duty developers. Even though attendance has been capped at a little more than 6,000, Activision has promised a “constant stream” of videos, pics and status updates that will be released via TV and online outlets.
What will be good for attendees is that this is not Activision’s first experience with large-scale fan festivals. Activision inherited BlizzCon back in 2008, the annual convention dedicated to the three games produced by Blizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft. Tickets for Call of Duty XP 2011 will go on sale beginning July 18 for $150 per ticket. All of the money from ticket sales will go to benefit the Call of Duty Endowment, a nonprofit group founded by Activision in 2009 to help soldiers transition to civilian life with job placement and training programs.
Source: GameSpot – Call of Duty convention deploys Sept. 2-3
