News: Another Activision dedicated server fiasco

It looks as if Activision is going to be haunted by the gaming public once more after the company announced an exclusive deal that would make GameServers.com the only dedicated server option available for the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops.

PC gamers around the world went up in arms last year when Activision revealed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 wouldn't feature support for dedicated servers. The company subsequently announced that the next game in the series, Black Ops, would feature dedicated servers, though they never said how many.

According to Kotaku, instead of being able to host their own dedicated servers, users will be forced to use GameServers.com. A ranked dedicated server will cost $14.95 (R107) a month and will cater to a maximum of 18 players. Unranked servers can be obtained for 99 cents (R7) per month per player and will sport a maximum of 24 players.

Teamspeak support will also be charged, meaning gamers won't be able to talk to each other without filling the Activision coffers.

There will be discounts available for 3, 6 or 12 month prepaid payments. Josh Olin, community manager at Treyarch, the studio behind the game said that players using the Treyarch-hosted servers would still be able to play for free.

He said that the arrangement with GameServers would provide better protection against hacking and cheating.

“If you rent a server, you will still have the ability to kick, ban and configure it the way you see fit. Of course, ranked servers will have some set configurations that can't be messed with; but you will still have the power to administrate your servers as a customer of GameServers.”

The decision is sure to spark renewed outrage at Activision from across the PC community. Dedicated servers have long been a staple to online PC first person shooters as they give clans and groups of friends a customisable environment in which to practice and play the game.

Still, it's not the end of the world and it's definitely not something that's going to stop gamers in general enjoying Black Ops come the 9th of November. The game will be releasing on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and will retail for around R450 (PC) and R699 (Xbox and PS3).

Another Activision dedicated server fiasco

Related Articles

Most Read Articles

Have Your Say