EA introduces COD Elite-style subscription service for Battlefield

Electronic Arts has announced Battlefield Premium, a new annual subscription service that offers Battlefield 3 players special features, virtual items, and early access to content packs. The $50-a-year service is similar to the Call of Duty Elite offering that Activision introduced in 2011 for its rival first-person shooter franchise. More than 7 million players have registered with COD Elite, and over 1.5 million have premium memberships ($60 a year). EA believes this service will help keep up momentum for Battlefield 3 until it releases the series' next entry in 2013, according to a report from Reuters. Since releasing in October 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows, Battlefield 3 has sold over 15 million copies. Players who sign up for a Battlefield Premium subscription will receive five expansion packs, as well as exclusive features such as the ability to erase the game statistics. They will also receive special in-game items like dogtags and knives. Subscribers who have a PS3 edition of Battlefield 3 will also be able to play upcoming content releases two weeks earlier than non-members. EA claims that consumers would need to spend $25 if they wanted to purchase Battlefield Premium's downloadable content packs separately.