Call of Duty Elite service will be free for Black Ops 2

Activision announced today that all of its Call of Duty Elite service features will be free for Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

"We've learned a lot in our first year of Call of Duty Elite, and we're very proud that we over delivered on our commitment of playable content to our premium members," said Activision Publishing CEO, Eric Hirshberg. "What we have realized is that several of the Call of Duty Elite services which are currently only available to our premium members for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 are things that would further unite, engage and delight our player community. So we are going to make them free for Call of Duty: Black Ops II."

As a free service for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the Call of Duty Elite platform will continue to evolve as the definitive Call of Duty headquarters, with the inclusion of new and enhanced features such as Player HQ, Clan HQ, Zombies Support, Call of Duty Elite TV, and Social Sharing and Notifications.

Also announced, Activision will be selling four new Downloadable Content (DLC) Map Packs both á la carte and through the introduction of the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Season Pass. Coming to the Xbox LIVE first, the four Call of Duty: Black Ops II DLC Map Packs will contain new Multiplayer and Zombies content and are expected to be available in 2013.

The Season Pass will deliver all four Call of Duty: Black Ops II DLC Map Packs at a discounted suggested retail price of 4000 Microsoft Points ($49.99). Users can get the packs separately for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) each.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches worldwide on November 13, 2012, on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC. The title is also expected to be released in North America on November 18, 2012, for the new Wii U game system from Nintendo.