Activision has denied claims it misled gamers about the benefits of Call of Duty Elite on PlayStation 3, stating gamers convinced themselves that paying for the premium service would somehow cancel the DLC exclusivity contract with Microsoft and enable the content to be released at the same time on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

"Somewhere along the way, people convinced themselves that an Elite subscription would trump the 2010 DLC exclusivity deal that was created before Elite existed - that by paying for Elite, they were somehow invalidating a contract between Activision and Microsoft," wrote Activision blogger Dan Amrich. "It doesn't make any sense, but it is what people started to think."

In order to get to the bottom of fan confusion, Amrich looked back at Activision's communication regarding Elite.

"I can find no evidence of 'buy Elite, get PS3 DLC same time as 360' ever being so much as suggested by any official source," he wrote. "It was never one of the things listed in the official benefits chart; it was never promised by any representative of Activision, Call of Duty, Elite, or its developers. Honestly? I think gamers just convinced themselves that it would happen because they wanted it to happen. That makes sense, but it doesn't make it true."

As further evidence to prove Activision's innocence in the matter, Amrich also pointed to the Elite FAQ.

"Similar to Map Packs, X360 Premium members will receive their Content before PS3 Premium members. All Call of Duty ELITE Premium members will receive a steady stream of content released monthly for 9 months through the Content season, and they will also receive their Content before non-premium members on their console."

In addition, Amrich linked to a post he made back in June 2011: "Elite subscribers will be able to access the DLC before it goes on sale to a la carte purchasers. The window of time has not been disclosed. For PS3 owners, this does not override this business deal that currently brings Call of Duty DLC to Xbox 360 first; that deal is valid through 2012. However, Elite members will get the DLC before the non-Elite members on their respective platforms."

He concluded: "I'm seeing people scream 'rip-off' and stuff like that, but nobody's going to get ripped off; every gamer will get everything they were promised and everything they paid for. It's unfortunate that people assumed things about Elite that turned out to not be based in fact, but I hope the truth is clear now. Unpopular, I'm guessing, but clear."

The first maps for Modern Warfare 3 were released earlier this week. It's not clear when this content will be made available on PS3.

At the end of the day, Activision is saying that an Elite subscription provides players with a lower cost way of obtaining all the DLC, with the benefit of accessing this content before non-subscribers on your specific platform.

Whilst the publisher has never said anything different to this, it is easy to see why gamers have put one and one together to get three, confusing early access to the content on a specific platform with the idea of getting the content first.