Activision’s Call of Duty is one of the most popular video game franchises in the industry. With humble beginnings in 2003 as a World War II-themed shooter, Call of Duty has spawned 20 games across nearly every platform, hosts more than 40 million active monthly players, and has sold hundreds of millions of copies. But gamers, and industry investors, now expect a high profile release every year, and with the increasing complexity of new platforms and higher expectations from players, it takes too long for the game’s developers, Infinity Ward and Treyarch, to meet a yearly schedule.
In response, Activision this week announced a new three-year development cycle for upcoming Call of Duty titles, starting with the as-yet-unnamed game set for release this fall. To accommodate this change, and still meet the yearly release pace that the industry demands, Activision is bringing a third developer into the mix: Foster City, California-based Sledgehammer Games. This won’t be Sledgehammer’s first experience with the franchise. The studio, founded in 2009 by Visceral Games (Dead Space, The Godfather II) alumni Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, assisted Infinity Ward with the development of 2011’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg explained the decision during the company’s earnings call on Thursday:
This will give our designers more time to envision and innovate for each title. Simultaneously, it will give our content creators more focus on DLC and micro-DLC which, as you know, have become large and high-margin opportunities and significant engagement drivers. Finally, we’ll give our teams more time to polish, helping ensure we deliver the best possible experience to our fans – each and every time.
The most recent game in the Call of Duty franchise, Ghosts, launched in November alongside the release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The game received generally positive reviews, particularly for its multiplayer component. It is also available for Windows, Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U.
