Call of Duty lands on Facebook ... in its upcoming Elite social network

Did you know that there is a Call of Duty (CoD) convention now? (And that the Dropkick Murphy's and Kanye West are performing there?) Crazy, we know, but at any rate some vital details about Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty Elite social network were revealed during the event in Los Angeles known as Call of Duty XP, according to VentureBeat.

Most importantly, the social network for all things CoD from consoles to the web and mobile apps will feature Facebook integration, allowing players to invite their friends to become CoD buddies with them. Better yet, you'll even be able to send Facebook friends invites for them to join you while you're playing, which should make it easier to find friends to play with.

We're not at the point of posting Achievements to your News Feed or asking friends to help you build your new gun just yet, but this a major step for a publisher that has yet to submit completely if at all to the allure of Facebook gaming. The service will also be free to use ... sort of.

Activision Blizzard plans to charge players $49.99 annually for an optional premium version of the Call of Duty Elite service. This will give players access to 20 pieces of downloadable content released for the game (including the map expansion packs that go for $14.99 usually), the ability to level up your clans, access to insider tips and video content directed by acclaimed directors Ridley Scott and Tony Scott.

Call of Duty Elite
The freebie players will still have access to multiplayer, stat tracking and the ability to join clans among other features, to which Activision Publishing president Eric Hirshberg added, "We made sure that we didn't take anything away from people who are paying money for the game," according to VentureBeat.

What Hirshberg is saying is that if you choose not to pay the premium subscription fee and buy additional content at your leisure, not much will change for you when it comes to gameplay. Call of Duty Elite, which has been in development at the publisher's Beachhead Studios for two years, is a huge step in the buzzword direction nearly everyone else is headed: social. Though Activision Blizzard does say that it's investing in Facebook games, Call of Duty Elite seems to be a far better gauge of where the company's interests in Facebook lie, at least with the oomph we see from its competitors like EA.