In an investor's conference call this week. Activision has confirmed that it has set up a new studio to focus specifically on developing a community-focused, online only game for the hugely popular Call Of Duty series.

"Project Beachhead" falls in line with Activision's new strategy shift for 2011 to focus on low risk digital content that can generate huge profits.

“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,” confirmed Activision boss Bobby Kotick.

Call Of Duty Online (name unconfirmed) is likely to be a subscription-based service, though Activision has not confirmed or denied the rumour. The arrival of "Project Beachhead" won't affect the release of the eigth installent of the Call Of Duty franchise, which will arrive as usual toward the end of this year.

The news of "Project Beachhead" follows confirmation that the Activision has canned all future work on its Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, Tony Hawk and True Crime franchises.