Activision plans Call of Duty Online launch for China in first quarter of 2015

Activision Blizzard said today that it plans to launch Call of Duty Online, a free-to-play version of its modern combat video game, in the Chinese market in the first quarter of 2015. That’s big news, since the shooter has been in testing in the Chinese market, which is now generating more revenues overall than the U.S. game market, for some time.

The online game will be a way for players in the rest of the world to enjoy what has become one of the biggest video game properties of the West. In those markets, Call of Duty generates more than $1 billion a year, but Activision Blizzard sees China as an expansion market, and the free-to-play online business model rules there. Tencent, the largest game company in the world and an investor in Activision Blizzard, will publish the title in China, as a partner for Activision Blizzard.