14 DAY TRIAL // The Resurgence Map Pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been seen by fans of the series as the last bit of content developer Infinity Ward would launch for the franchise for some time. But publisher Activision is saying gamers can expect more from the studio that made the first person shooter the best selling game of 2009, even though key personnel left and is now working at Respawn Entertainment, collaborating with Electronic Arts.
Talking to VG247, Dave Stohl, who is the executive vice president in charge of development studios at Activision, said, “There is definitely a strong shooter philosophy there, for sure. And I think that there’s a short and long term view on the whole thing. But I think we’re rebuilding a studio that can go off and build great new franchises in the future.”
Stohl has emphasized that Infinity Ward is actively recruiting new people and that a fresh culture is being built at the studio, with a development project beginning once the unity of the team is restored. It's not clear whether the developers will be returning to Call of Duty or whether they will work on a different intellectual property.
This year, Treyarch, the second studio behind Call of Duty, is set to launch Black Ops, a new game in the series, which focuses on the operations that took place during the Cold War, with the setting moving from Russia to Vietnam and to the Arctic region.
Analysts are predicting the title will not do as well as Modern Warfare 2 but will manage to be a contender for the biggest seller of 2010. Meanwhile, another studio, Sledgehammer Games, built around Electronic Arts veterans who left after making Dead Space, is also working on a game linked to Call of Duty, rumored to be played in the third person.