Call of Duty Elite premium tier $50 a year

Activision first announced Call of Duty: Elite in May, but the publisher has been tight-lipped on exactly what the premium tier of the first-person shooter's subscription-based service would include, and how much it would be.

That changed during the keynote address at today's Call of Duty XP fan convention, as Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg confirmed that full-year access to the premium tier of Elite would cost $50. Though Elite will have a free component, paid subscribers will get a number of perks, including access to all pieces of downloadable content released for the game. These will be delivered on a monthly basis. The DLC on its own will cost a total of $60, Hirshberg said.

There will be multiple ways to sign up for Elite, but perhaps the simplest is to purchase Modern Warfare 3 Hardened Edition. The $100 package will include the game, an Elite membership, and lifetime founder status in the service.

Premium Elite members will also be able to participate in competitions for prizes of both the real and virtual sort. For example, Activision is giving away a Call of Duty special-edition Jeep to one player in the Call of Duty Elite beta. Paid members can also level up clans and receive eight times more video-capture capacity. They'll also receive video content including strategy and analysis from some of the best competitive players in the world, as well as the Elite TV episodic content from talent like Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and directors Ridley and Tony Scott.

Both paid and free Call of Duty Elite subscribers will get access to Facebook integration in Modern Warfare 3, so players can jump into a game with anyone on their friends list. The service also supports groups, which will be based on interests shared between gamers.

For more on Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty's first fan convention, check out GameSpot's Call of Duty XP home page.