14 DAY TRIAL // Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was a truly great game, as it received numerous awards and, according to its publisher, Activision, has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, making it the “most successful first-person action title of all time.”
Yesterday, we saw the trailer to the sequel of the game, Modern Warfare 2, which will be arriving before this year's holiday season. While it didn't showcase quite a lot of things, the explosions and gunfire were enough for fans across the world to already start saving up in order to buy the game. But a couple of statements from Activision and Infinity Ward executives made analysts wonder why there wasn't any mention of the Call of Duty brand in the trailer.
The rumors that Infinity Ward had transformed Modern Warfare into a new franchise have now been confirmed, as a representative of the studio told GameSpot that “All I can tell you (officially) at this point is that Modern Warfare has taken on such a life of its own, it has become our focus now. At this point, it's too early to release additional details.”
These statements were confirmed by the official press release that made no reference to the Call of Duty series, except when speaking of the first Modern Warfare title. “Everyone on the team is laser focused on making the most gripping experience we've ever created,” said Infinity Ward's CEO, Vince Zampella. “No detail is too small and every finishing touch imaginable is underway to make Modern Warfare 2 our best ever. We can't wait for our fans around the world to play starting November 10th.”
This move might be very profitable for both Infinity Ward and Activision. With the Call of Duty series probably going to Treyarch, which proved its value with CoD: World At War that achieved big sales, Infinity Ward can freely develop a brand new and already successful franchise in the form of Modern Warfare.
Hopefully, we'll get more concrete details in the near future and probably mark the birth of a new franchise for Activision.