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Call of Duty Series to “Broaden” Its Audience
Video game publisher Activision released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last year. It made over a billion dollars. Now Activision has decide it will make the series more accessible. Because over a billion dollars is not accessible. And not enough people read Harry Potter books. Have you ever seen Star Wars? Thomas Tippl, Activision’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2010 -
Activision Exec: Our Developers are Treated ‘Extremely Well’
A top Activision executive, speaking late this week after mass defections from Modern Warfare studio Infinity Ward eviscerated morale there, defended the company’s treatment of its developers, saying they’re paid better under Activision than anywhere else. “We treat our developers extremely well,” Thomas Tippl (pictured), Activision’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, told the…
By Owen Good Published April 18, 2010 -
The Studio Behind Modern Warfare Is “Dead,” Insider Says [UPDATE]
The mood at Infinity Ward, the studio behind 2009’s biggest game, is terrible and corporate parent Activision is unsure how to fix it, a source close to the development studio tells Kotaku. Infinity Ward, they said, “will continue to crumble.” The source is privy to the goings on in Infinity Ward this week, an eventful…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 16, 2010 -
Call Of Duty Before Bedtime Not As Unhealthy As Feared
Parents, prepare to lose more arguments with your kids about late-night gaming. Teenagers, clip and save this post. Researchers in Australia recently made teenagers play Call of Duty IV before bed-time — really twisted their arms, surely — and found that a 16-year-old’s ability to fall asleep may only be slightly delayed by night-time gaming.…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 15, 2010 -
Today’s Update On The Great Modern Warfare Developer Bailout
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward continues its slow crumble today with the departure of two more key team members, sources close to the studio tell Kotaku. Longtime Infinity Ward employees Mark Grigsby and Paul Messerly have both left the studio, the team’s lead animator and lead character animator, respectively. Grigsby had…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 14, 2010 -
Modern Warfare Developer Sees More Key Departures Today
Call of Duty creators and Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward shrinks again today, as more key talent behind the billion first-person shooter franchise jumps ship. Sources close to the studio tell Kotaku of four new departures from the troubled developer. A pair of Modern Warfare 2’s lead designers, Steve Fukuda and Zied Reike, are said…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 13, 2010 -
Modern Warfare Team Loses Two More Veterans [Update]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward is a little bit smaller today, as two more longtime employees have left the embattled studio. Veteran programmer Jon Shiring and designer Mackey McCandlish have parted ways with the home of Modern Warfare. Shiring announced his resignation from the Encino-based Infinity Ward via Twitter, as spotted by…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 12, 2010 -
Modern Warfare Publisher Unruffled By New Competitor
The new development studio formed by ousted Modern Warfare creators and its agreement with EA Partners comes as “no surprise” to Activision, flaunting Infinity Ward’s proven talent in a statement to Kotaku. Former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella’s conflict with Call of Duty publisher Activision is reaching legendary proportions, with accusations of…
By Mike Fahey Published April 12, 2010 -
Ousted Modern Warfare 2 Creators Respawn, Sign With Former Rivals
The drama involving the creators of one of the biggest franchises in gaming continues as Jason West and Vince Zampella, the fired former lead creators of Modern Warfare 2, have formed a new company, Respawn Entertainment. EA, their formal rival, is backing. [UPDATE: Check out Kotaku’s interview with West and Zampella about Respawn Entertainment.] The…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 12, 2010 -
Modern Legal Warfare Court Documents Got That Boom Boom Pow
We know court documents aren’t generally very entertaining, but the Activision Cross-Complaint against Infinity Ward’s West and Zampella is so three-thousand and eight, while others are two-thousand and late. Yes, this very well might be the only video game lawsuit court document containing a quote from a Black-Eyed Peas song, and for that, we are…
By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2010 -
Axed Call Of Duty Creators Return Fire At Activision, Plan To Reveal ‘Creative Future’ Soon
Mega-publisher Activision filed its counter-suit against two former top Modern Warfare game developers today, claiming that the pair purposely delayed Modern Warfare 3 and had designs to “steal the [Infinity Ward] studio.” What does the other side have to say? The attorney representing Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella call Activision’s allegations “false…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 9, 2010 -
The Biggest Break Up In Video Game History
Intrigue, backstabbing, secret messages and double agents: Reading the world’s largest game publisher’s counter-suit against the top people in charge of creating one of the biggest video game franchise in history is like dropping into one of their Modern Warfare video games. Told from the perspective of Activision, the publisher didn’t take lightly the firing…
By Brian Crecente Published April 9, 2010 -
The Best Modern Warfare Fan Film $209.42 Can Buy
Take seven of your spare minutes today to watch Modern Warfare: Frozen Crossing, a tribute to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, if only to see how much fan film $209.42 USD can buy you. Of course, that sum doesn’t take into account the value of the talent involved in putting together this Modern…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 7, 2010 -
Modern Warfare 2 Goes Free On Steam This Weekend Only
Want to see what all that Modern Warfare 2 fuss is about, PC gamers? Then play the game’s multiplayer mode for free this weekend, courtesy of Activision and Valve’s Steam service. That “weekend” starts a little early, as the free Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer action starts Thursday, April 8. You can pre-load…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 7, 2010 -
Mystery Mailings Point To Radioactive TV Channel, Call of Duty Clues?
A mysterious USB card loaded with strange sounds, a brown envelope sent with no return address, a simple text file: That’s right, it’s time for another marketing push in the guise of a alternative reality game. Yesterday we received a plain black USB drive tucked away in a envelope. On the drive was this sound…
By Brian Crecente Published April 6, 2010 -
Modern Warfare Developer Loses Two More Key Players
Despite rumours of Call of Duty developers being “held hostage” over withheld bonus payments, it nevertheless looks like more of those involved with the series have begun to leave Infinity Ward following the sacking of the studio’s founders As revealed by the pair’s Linkedin profiles (pictured below), Todd Alderman, a Lead Designer and one of…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 5, 2010 -
Where Posters, Packaging & Box Art Comes From
A few weeks ago, I did a feature on a company that’s responsible for game logos and box art. Today, then, I thought we’d look at something similar: a company that does box art and marketing material. The artwork you’ll see in this post is the work of British firm Head First, an agency that…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2010 -
Modern Warfare 2 DLC Ad Takes Some Liberties
There’s something fishy about this commercial for the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 map pack. Namely, that these sure as hell aren’t the kind of people I run into playing the game. Compared to the community’s juvenile, angry, foul-mouthed status quo, these “mapathy sufferers” – who are capable of more emotions than just sarcasm and fury…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 24, 2010 -
Gamer Takes On Real Soldier At Modern Warfare 2
Let’s say someone built a replica of Modern Warfare 2’s training level, “The Pit”. And then felt like challenging a real soldier to go through it, while they played the level on computer. Fancy watching? Oh yeah. We featured this level a few weeks ago, built for a challenge on a British TV show. Well,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 24, 2010