Sledgehammer Games Making 2011 Call Of Duty
Shake-up of franchise strategy leaves Infinity Ward out in the cold.
Activision has stated that Sledgehammer Games is working on a new Call of Duty game for 2011, in what the company is calling "new strategic plans" for the franchise.
The announcement immediately followed news that the publisher sent heavies to Infinity Ward. Activision confirmed that studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella were laid off as a result of the visit. Chief technology officer Steve Pearce, and head of production Steve Ackrich will lead the team in the meantime.
A new studio led by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey from Visceral Games (Dead Space), Sledgehammer's title will become part of a renewed direction for the Call of Duty series, with a focus on "high-margin digital online content and further the brand as the leading action entertainment franchise in new geographies, new genres and with new digital business models," according to Activision.
With Treyarch still on track to launch its biennial instalment this year, it leaves questions as to where Infinity Ward stands in the shake-up. Work at the studio is limited to downloadable content for Modern Warfare 2, but beyond that there's no mention on what Activision plans to do with it next.
Of course, the writing was on the wall for a long time - and SPOnG called it way back in November, when it was reported that a third studio would be handling the Call of Duty franchise.
Activision also announced that it plans to bring Call of Duty to Asia, tapping into the lucrative online games market there.
The announcement immediately followed news that the publisher sent heavies to Infinity Ward. Activision confirmed that studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella were laid off as a result of the visit. Chief technology officer Steve Pearce, and head of production Steve Ackrich will lead the team in the meantime.
A new studio led by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey from Visceral Games (Dead Space), Sledgehammer's title will become part of a renewed direction for the Call of Duty series, with a focus on "high-margin digital online content and further the brand as the leading action entertainment franchise in new geographies, new genres and with new digital business models," according to Activision.
With Treyarch still on track to launch its biennial instalment this year, it leaves questions as to where Infinity Ward stands in the shake-up. Work at the studio is limited to downloadable content for Modern Warfare 2, but beyond that there's no mention on what Activision plans to do with it next.
Of course, the writing was on the wall for a long time - and SPOnG called it way back in November, when it was reported that a third studio would be handling the Call of Duty franchise.
Activision also announced that it plans to bring Call of Duty to Asia, tapping into the lucrative online games market there.
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Comments
irritant 3 Mar 2010 09:54
1/3
"high-margin digital online content"
Or put another way "the ridiculous price we charged for MW2 still wasn't enough for us, we want to rape our customers wallets even after they've bought the game."
Or put another way "the ridiculous price we charged for MW2 still wasn't enough for us, we want to rape our customers wallets even after they've bought the game."
Matt Langley 5 Mar 2010 15:39
2/3
Sounds like slaying the goose that laid the golden egg to me. It's a classic problem in business, "yes you may always be right, but I'm the boss so we are going to do something else"; well, I'm the customer and the Call of Duty franchise has only ever been any good when Inifinity Ward are working on it, so I suspect the franchise is now dead, and you ain't gonna make much more money out of it. I don't see how that is good business.
I hope that whatever takes over as the premier on-line FPS has improved match making to avoid the lag which makes Call of Duty unplayable after 10pm. Current versions of the game does not take into account geographic location so when the Americans come on-line, and always get the host, it doesn't register hits until 3 seconds after you fire youir gun which is an eternity. The fix is easy too, if there 10000 on-line users on one continent, put 12 of them in the same lobby, instead of putting them in a lobby hosted on the other side of the ocean.
I hope that whatever takes over as the premier on-line FPS has improved match making to avoid the lag which makes Call of Duty unplayable after 10pm. Current versions of the game does not take into account geographic location so when the Americans come on-line, and always get the host, it doesn't register hits until 3 seconds after you fire youir gun which is an eternity. The fix is easy too, if there 10000 on-line users on one continent, put 12 of them in the same lobby, instead of putting them in a lobby hosted on the other side of the ocean.
Daniel Woods 16 Apr 2010 04:41
3/3
Now I know I sound too young as I am 12 but, I have played CoD 3,4,5 and 6 and to be honest IW made the best games out of the four. In other words, F**K ACTIVITION FOR RUINING COD!!
