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Hollywood lining up for Call of Duty Elite

Director Ridley Scott and actor Jason Bateman are among the people reportedly working to create content for Activision's Call of Duty Elite.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
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Don Reisinger
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Major Hollywood figures are working with Activision on Call of Duty Elite, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg revealed today during an address at the Pacific Crest Global Technology Leadership Forum in Colorado.

Call of Duty Elite is an online community for the franchise's players. The service, which is currently available by invite-only, allows users to find others to play Call of Duty with, as well as enter tournaments to compete for virtual and real-world prizes. The service also includes access to strategy videos, information on weapons, and better intel on multiplayer maps.

When the service launches publicly in November, Activision plans to make it available across several platforms, including all major game consoles and Web browsers.

According to USA Today, which listened in on the address, Hirshberg said that director Ridley Scott, as well as actors Will Arnett and Jason Bateman are working with Activision to develop content for the company's online community. Hirshberg didn't say exactly what they were working on, but he did say that it's "exclusive episodic entertainment built just for the Call of Duty community."

Hirshberg's comments follow a report in June from the Guardian, quoting Hirshberg as saying Activision had engaged some "top Hollywood talent" to work on "linear video content that will be exclusive to Elite members." According to Hirshberg, the video content being developed is inspired by Call of Duty.

Elite's public availability is expected to coincide with the wildly anticipated launch in November of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. That game will have some serious shoes to fill, since its predecessor, Call of Duty: Black Ops, shattered sales records, earning $1 billion in just six weeks.