Sledgehammer Games, the developer of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, had originally pitched a different game to Activision. This game, codenamed Anvil, was set in the futuristic universe of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. However, it seems like Activision was dead set on a sequel to Modern Warfare 2.
According to a recent Bloomberg article, Activision shelved Project Anvil and ordered Sledgehammer Games to work on another Modern Warfare game instead. This was likely due to the success of the previous Modern Warfare games, and Activision’s desire to keep the series going. The decision to shelve Project Anvil and develop another Modern Warfare game was controversial among some developers at Sledgehammer Games.
Some in the studio felt that they were being forced to sacrifice quality for the sake of meeting Activision’s deadlines. Those deadlines are incredibly small for a game of this size. In the end, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was developed in less than a year and a half, half the time of previous Call of Duty games. The rushed development cycle had a negative impact on the game’s quality.
With that revelation, it’s clear that a lot of people are taking copium when defending the length of the campaign. This is great evidence for those who say that the campaign was half-baked and not ready. Many players finished the game in five hours, so you’re basically asking $70 for a game that isn’t done. It felt rushed because it was rushed. If anything, this is the quality of what an expansion pack would be back in the day.
I’m not a huge fan of Call of Duty, even though I play the games, because of the practices that come when a publisher gets big enough. Hopefully going under Microsoft’s banner will increase the quality and standards that Activision holds. Choosing to release a game with this campaign and only have half the regular development time is really suspect.
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