In a move widely criticized pre-launch, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 doesn't feature a campaign, instead opting for a Battle Royale called Blackout for its third mode. This is where the problems start to pile up.
2017's World War II is developed by Sledgehammer Games, the first return to the setting since World at War in 2008. Better sales than ever, but internal breakdownĬall of Duty is a victim of its own success in 2016, when Infinity Ward's Infinite Warfare underperforms compared to past titles, while still being the best-selling game of November in the U.S, per NPD. While the campaign for Black Ops 3 is also criticized, it's easily the best-selling game of the three, further propelling the Black Ops name for the Call of Duty brand. Critical praise dwindles however, with Call of Duty: Ghosts criticized for a lack of new ideas. Call of Duty is now officially on a three-developer cycle, with each team getting three years to prepare, build, and launch its entry. The next few years pass without any real notable issues, as Call of Duty: Ghosts, Advanced Warfare, and Black Ops 3 launch in 2013, 2014, and 2015, led by Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer and Treyarch respectively. Treyarch's Black Ops 2 in 2012 would sell over 24 million copies, not quite reaching the heights of Modern Warfare 3 but providing yearly staying power all the same. Whatever happened behind closed doors, the bet paid off, with Sledgehammer and a rebuilding Infinity Ward sharing technology and ideas moving forward, while Modern Warfare 3 went on to sell over 26.5 million copies. With the yearly cycle in jeopardy, Sledgehammer seems to have made an agreement: In exchange for co-developing Modern Warfare 3 so it could launch on time, the team would get to lead its own Call of Duty games in the future. Enter Sledgehammer Games.įounded in 2009 by Dead Space veterans Michael Condrey and Glen Schofield, Sledgehammer Games was originally acquired by Activision with the understanding that the team would work on a third-person action-adventure spin-off for Call of Duty. The two found Respawn Entertainment, attracting dozens of Infinity Ward developers, leaving the studio short-staffed as development was supposed to ramp on the 2011 entry in the series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. West and Zampella are fired from the company for insubordination. Years of brewing tension between Activision and Infinity Ward leadership Jason West and Vince Zampella reach critical mass in 2010. Call of Duty is now undeniably a pillar of the gaming industry, but there's trouble brewing. Unlike the games developed by Infinity Ward, which opt to include a campaign, multiplayer and "Special Forces" co-op missions, Black Ops eschews Special Forces in favor of Zombies.Ī tacked-on extra no longer, this is a fully fleshed-out game mode with a community dedicated to the intricate, complicated easter eggs with Zombies' narrative. 2009's Modern Warfare 2 from Infinity Ward sells 20 million copies in its first year, a record that doesn't even last a year, as Treyarch's Black Ops in 2010 goes on to sell 25 million copies in its first year. Momentum is now on Call of Duty's side, and every game is bigger than the last. World at War also packs in Zombies: a mode that started as something of a hidden extra but would soon become an increasingly pivotal mode in the franchise.
Treyarch delivers Call of Duty: World at War in 2008, a game that sells over 3 million copies in its first two months.
The two-year cycle begins and continues quite successfully for a time, with Modern Warfare selling over 7 million copies in 2007 alone. Treyarch previously worked on the 2005 spinoff Call of Duty 2: Big Red One but now, the team is a mainline developer for the franchise. Eager to see these successes not skip another year, Activision brings in one of its internal studios, Treyarch, to develop Call of Duty 3 in time for a 2006 launch. Notably, there's no new game in 2004: a lone skipped year that has not happened since.Ĭall of Duty 2 is another hit, selling over 1.4 million copies and prompting Infinity Ward to start work on the 2007 entry, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
In preparation for the launch of the Xbox 360, Infinity Ward grows significantly (from around 25 staff members to well over 100) and launches Call of Duty 2 in 2005. It's a World War II shooter developed by Infinity Ward, a studio acquired by publisher Activision after the game's launch is a success. The story begins in 2003 with the first Call of Duty.
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