First, the entire key authentication / master server paradigm is changing for the first time in a Call of Duty PC title. In CoD:WW, you will be authenticating in-game against a more global master server. This server will keep track of and maintain unique Profile names (like a screenname) which will be tied to your CD Key. So while username / passwords will not be required to play our game, you will have globally unique profile names.

Why are we doing this? Because also for the first time ever in a Call of Duty PC title, we're bringing Friends and Invites (which are typically console staples) to the PC. So we have built-in Friends functionality. You can add friends, filter your servers by Friends (see which servers your friends are playing in), join their servers, etc. You can also invite any online friends to come join you in your current game. We didn't want the new Squad mechanics we've developed to get watered down on the PC, which is ultimately why we decided to bring you Friends & Invites, and thus globally unique profile names.

Now we understand that clan tags can change frequently, and it would be obnoxious and not very user friendly to keep changing your profile name. So we've added in clan tag prefixes, which will show up in-game. This should allow you to take full advantage of our Friends & Invites features, and still be able to make yourself more uniquely identifiable in-game.