Earlier this week, at a studio complex somewhere in Kentish Town, Activision previewed what will certainly be one of the biggest entertainment events of the year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the latest in the long-running series of first-person shooters, is likely to make more money than any blockbuster movie release, and through subsequent downloadable content, it will continue to generate millions of dollars throughout 2012.

 

Last year, the Cold War-based Call of Duty: Black Ops shifted something in the region of 18m copies and became America's biggest-selling game ever. But fans consider the spin-off Modern Warfare titles – developed by the original Call of Duty studio, Infinity Ward – to be the standard bearers for the series.

 

Of course, Modern Warfare 3 was always an inevitability, but nothing about its development has been predictable. Last year, several months after the release of the smash hit Modern Warfare 2, Activision sacked Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella for, "breaches of contract and insubordination".

 

The duo sued Activision, Activision counter-sued and in the meantime dozens more Infinity Ward staff left, many joining their previous bosses at new development start-up, Respawn Entertainment, now working on an undisclosed project for EA. Very quickly, Activision revealed that it had also formed a new studio, Sledgehammer Games, with Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey previously of EA's Visceral Games at its head, and a remit to work on the Call of Duty brand.

 

Indeed, the team was already being paired up with a restructured Infinity Ward to start work on Modern Warfare 3. The two companies have shared development duties – an increasingly common set-up in the modern industry, where projects can require teams of up to 200 people.

 

"We're taking it to an entirely new level," says Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling, displaying the customary games industry hyperbole. "We're taking players into the heart of major cities all around the world, delivering urban combat in places like Manhattan and London. We're also going throughout Europe, to Russia, parts of Africa, and the Himalayas – you will travel the world." Yes you will, and judging by the two missions Activision revealed to us at the press event, you will blow most of it up in the process.

 

Source: Keith Stuart, guardian.co.uk

 

 

 

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