The strength of the Call of Duty brand has reared its near unstoppable head once again, this time in the form of hardcore players, numbering more than one million, who have signed up for the Call of Duty: Elite Premium service. Moreover, this number happened in around six days and adds to the already huge number of subscribers to the service prior to Call of Dity: Modern Warfare 3's November 8 launch. Overall, there are more than four million Elite subscribers now (Premium and Standard).

By comparison, the premium subscription services of Netflix, Hulu Plus, Sirius XM and Xbox® LIVE®, each reached one million paid subscribers after approximately one year.

"The audience response to Call of Duty Elite's premium service has been beyond our expectations, and we want to thank Call of Duty players around the world for their unprecedented enthusiasm," said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard via press release. "The number of gamers who have registered for Call of Duty Elite further illustrates how this service is poised to redefine social gaming and set a new bar for interactive entertainment."

Currently the Elite service is deployed only on consoles with Activision and Elite developer, Beachhead Studios, citing security as the main reason for the PC delay, however, Activision maintains they're working on getting it up and running for PC players.

Just prior to the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Elite development studio, Beachhead Studios' Chacko Sonny, told gamers the PC version of new service would not make a day-one release alongside the game, citing the need to "ensure a safe PC environment" as one of the driving factors in the delay but that they are "as committed as ever to the PC" and were "working [their] butts off" to make it happen.

However, a recent tweet from the official Elite Twitter feed might sell that goal short now, leaving many wondering if the service will ever reach the desktop platform.

"We are working towards a universal Elite experience but we cannot guarantee if or when a version will be available for the PC."

This is yet another let-down for MW3 on the PC platform against Battlefield 3, whose Battlelog system is well and truly up and running, though we'd argue that Elite has a lot more depth, even on the free-access level, so it's a shame this might not ever be implemented.

Is anyone playing Modern Warfare 3 on PC at the moment? How has your multiplayer experience been since launch?

Update: Shacknews is reporting that Activision have come to the rescue and claim the above tweet was erroneous, explaining that "The goal has always been to provide a PC offering for Elite. The timing for that free offering is still being determined, so stay tuned for news on that."

With the third title in the Modern Warfare series of Call of Duty very close to release, comes news that the online social networking service, Call of Duty Elite, has been delayed for none other then the PC platform.

"Beachhead Studio head Chacko Sonny has told Activision community man Dan Amrich that not only will be service not be launching on day one, but that there’s no idea yet when it will launch on PC.

“We’re as committed as ever to the PC,” he says, “but the need to ensure a safe PC environment is greater than ever. It’s really extensive. We need more time to get there, so Elite on PC will not launch on Day 1. We’re working our butts off to make it happen, but we won’t release it until we know that PC gamers can enjoy Elite as it’s meant to be.”

“The issue here is that the PC is an insecure platform. Without a central, trusted resource for stats, a lot of our competition features become unfair. We can’t give away prizes when people can easily cheat their stats. Leaderboards are less fun when a lot of the users are there unfairly.”

So, it seems we don't know when we will actually get Call of Duty Elite on PC, and this comes after news that PC dedicated servers aren't actually ranked, and that in order to rank up, you have to actually use the IWNet P2P (Peer 2 Peer) system instead.

Sources; Call of Duty Elite Delayed, Dedicated Servers Unranked

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The official Call of Duty page now has a new section which clearly outlines the difference between the Free and Premium versions of this upcoming shooter. The high level differences are as follows:

Free:

• Career Player ProfileCompare 1000s of stats, bests & trends across Black Ops, MW3 & future games.
• Create-a-Class OnlineCustomize your loadouts and synch them directly into the game.
• Public Groups & Private ClansFind friends and discover people with similar interests.
• HD Video SharingInstantly share HD video & still captures from the games.
• Call of Duty Elite AppsAccess Call of Duty Elite anywhere with dedicated apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Xbox 360 & PS3.

Premium:

• Monthly DLCAutomatically get new MW3 DLC monthly, throughout the year.
• Daily Competition with PrizesKeep up with prized competition for all skill levels.
• Level Up Your ClanJoin tournaments & leagues and get in-game tags & emblems. Earn Double XP as you level up your clan with operations & challenges.
• Pro Analysis & StrategyLearn and share strategies from expert-analysis of weapons, maps & modes.
• Elite TVTune in to Call of Duty Elite TV for exclusive episodic entertainment from top talent.

There's a full breakdown of all the feature differences between the two editions so head over to check them out to see if it's worth the upgrade for you!

As the battle for Holiday shooter roost ruler draws ever closer, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games have been pro-actively talking about major decisions in place for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 that are totally opposite decisions made for Modern Warfare 2, and for the better (LAN support, Dedicated Servers, etc).

There still remains a single point of contention and concern among many gamers though, in the Call of Duty: Elite offering Activision are serving up. This is essentially their one-stop social network for the series where players can track stats, remain in touch with friends, explore the finer details on their CoD game of choice, pick up new strategies and more.

This type of thing already exists in many forms for other games, and often for free, but it has always been Activision's goal to monetise a "premium version" for their more dedicated users with a higher level of usage and activity from the service.

News comes from Activision Australia today that an Aussie price-point of $64.99 will apply to anyone looking for Premium access to Elite, which in less "premium" form is also available for free to users. It will also be part of the "Hardened" collector's edition.

The recently announced 'Hardened' Edition for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is available in LIMITED quantities to pre-order for $159.95 RRP. Boasting multiplayer maps packs, memberships, in-game unlockables and a one-of-a-kind book bound with Call of Duty Modern Warfare's untold secrets, the 'Hardened Edition' is the definitive experience for the Call of Duty fan. The 'Hardened Edition' includes a 1-year Call of Duty ELITE Premium membership and ‘Founders Status’ (which means you receive EXCLUSIVE in-game Emblem, Playercard, Weapon Camouflage, Clan XP Boost, plus more exclusive benefits).

For anyone wondering, the US price-point for the Elite Premium package is US$49.99, which is a bit of a low-blow for us considering the strength of the Aussie dollar and that fact this isn't a physical product.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 lands on retail store-shelves worldwide this November 8.

Yesterday's reveal of the Call of Duty: Elite service was a strange one, with Activision quizzically granting disclosure exclusivity to financial publication The Wall Street Journal, who proceeded to run with the provocative headline "Call of Duty Targets a Monthly Fee", offering very little actual information about what the service itself would offer players and sparking misguided fears that we would be getting charged to play multiplayer.

Meanwhile, the many gaming publications that had also been privy to Elite's demonstration -- and wanted to tell us all what it actually is -- were left biting their collective tongues until NDAs were lifted. Obviously the monthly subscription is a big talking point, but we still don't have all the details on what that premium part of the service will offer, so that's all just speculation at this point.

What we do have however, is information on a whole bunch of the features that Call of Duty players will be getting for free from the new Call of Duty: Elite network.

Elite gives players an in-depth look at statistical details of their own performance and gameplay as well as that of the entire Call of Duty community. Elite also delivers a new level of social and community innovation for the Call of Duty franchise, by giving players better ways to connect and socialize with friends and rivals, both inside and outside our games. It also allows players of every level to improve their game with an intuitive suite of tools, and compete in tournaments for both real and in-game virtual prizes.

Read our in-depth preview for all the details and our take on things and watch the trailer below (or here in HD) for an example of the service's functions.

The Call of Duty: Elite service has now launched over at http://www.callofduty.com/elite and will be open to beta testers with Call of Duty: Black Ops shortly in preparation for November's launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.