It's no secret that the Call of Duty franchise is arguably the biggest money-maker in the video game industry to date, and it's no doubt Activision and CEO Bobby Kotick know it. Between releasing yearly blockbuster titles and pricey map packs that fans of the franchise eat up, the dollar signs are surely flashing in the publisher's eyes.

There have been grumblings in the past regarding a move to exploit the money-pot even more by developing a subscription based Call of Duty model, or an MMO of some type within the franchise, but neither of those have come to fruition as of yet. Activision has announced, however, one move towards the development of more Call of Duty content that will make you reach for your wallet.

Activision has launched a new studio, called Beachhead Studio, which will focus primarily on building and delivering digital Call of Duty content. The publishing giant has yet to spare the finer details, but Kotick revealed a bit of an overview for what we can expect from the newly launched studio:

Beachhead will create the best-in-class online community, exclusive content, and a suite of services to supercharge the online gaming experience like never before. The platform will support in-game integration and bring online experiences and console play together for the first time. The platform has been in development for over a year and we're very excited about the increased value we can bring to the community. We look forward to sharing more specifics on this exciting new endeavor with you in the near future.

Although it has yet to be rolled out and detailed, it appears Beachhead will be taking care of the online experience of the games, post-release. It seems as though they will be wholly in charge of keeping the online experience engaging and evolving, while producing content and possibly bringing some new ideas to the table. This could be anything developing from map packs and other DLC, to integrating events like double XP weekends or contests, and maybe even breaking the platform barrier by creating cross-platform experiences. It's a safe bet that if they will be building DLC, we will see more paid add-ons like map packs for each release, ultimately generating more revenue to the massively popular Call of Duty franchise.

If this is the case, then Treyarch and Infinity Ward can focus entirely on the retail release without having to completely factor in the multiplayer experience into the development process. This would be a benefit to ensure a quality release and the opportunity to build some evolution into the title versus the criticism of each title being the same concept with a new story and maps, all while having Beachhead develop a stronger multiplayer experience.

We'll have to wait and see what Beachhead's official role will be as a whole, but it seems like the new studio might just be an addition that will help build the already incredibly successful Call of Duty franchise.

What aspects of the Call of Duty franchise would you like to see change, or what additions would you want? What do you think about the launch of Beachhead and what it might bring to the franchise?

Source: Joystiq