The Call of Duty franchise came to a pivotal crossroads last year when Activision fired both the president and the CEO of the studio that created the series, Infinity Ward. The move had a number of repercussions, some of which are still playing out in court, but the one that promises to have the biggest impact on gamers is the decision to have Sledgehammer Games lend IW a hand with the development of this year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This turned out to be a shift in focus for the newcomer, which was said to be working on a very different kind of CoD game.
“Right now Sledgehammer’s 100% focused on Modern Warfare 3. We haven’t announced the future slate or future plans for the studio,” Activision exec Eric Hirshberg said in an interview with IndustryGamers. “They were originally working on an extension of the Call of Duty franchise into an action/adventure genre and that’s a game I still want to play.”
“That’s a supreme, incredible group doing that. All I can say is right now they’re 100% focused on Modern Warfare 3.”
Barring any MW3-scale leaks about the formerly in development game, that’s the last we’re likely to hear on the subject for a little while. The possibilities are pretty tantalizing though. An action-adventure game set against the backdrop of Call of Duty‘s world and unique sense of style could be a monster. Or it could be a lame attempt at a cash-in. We’ll have to wait and see how Sledgehammer does with MW3 this November.
