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Brits Build Real Life Modern Warfare 2 Level
The team from Britain’s FiveFWD gadget show were feeling crafty the other day, so went and built themselves a full-scale replica of “The Pit”, Modern Warfare 2’s training area. That in itself would normally be good enough, but for next week’s program, presenter Jason Bradbury will go one better and race a real special forces…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 16, 2010 -
Call of Duty For The Rest Of Them
There are people who can’t play Call of Duty. Maybe, according to a flight of fancy proposed last week at the Game Developers Conference, those people could at least help us CoD players out. The theory was explained during a panel at GDC 2010 entitled Sporadic Play: The History And Future Of Making Games For…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 15, 2010 -
Modern Warfare 2 Map Pack Also Features Ridiculous Price
Capping off a fairly terrible fortnight of news surrounding Call of Duty developers Infinity Ward comes word this morning that Modern Warfare 2’s map pack is one of the most over-priced pieces of downloadable content we’ve ever seen. Popping onto Xbox Live spokesman Larry Hryb’s podcast to promote Modern Warfare 2’s upcoming “Stimulus Package” map…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 15, 2010 -
Video Games’ Team Coco Moment
Billions of dollars? Got it. “Astonishing arrogance and unbridled greed“? Alleged. Video games are so close to being Hollywood, that we must celebrate a breakthrough: A possibly boring contract dispute that could be as juicy as Leno vs. Conan. We’ve got an executive that the Internet fans love to hate We’ve got not one, but…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 5, 2010 -
Activision “Disappointed” By Infinity Ward Founders’ “Meritless” Lawsuit
The world’s biggest video game publisher doesn’t take allegations of “Orwellian” investigations and unfair dismissals in silence. Activision has responded to the lawsuit filed by Jason West and Vince Zampella, the ousted former heads of Modern Warfare 2-maker Infinity Ward. “Activision is disappointed that Mr. Zampella and Mr. West have chosen to file a lawsuit,…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 4, 2010 -
Ex-Infinity Ward Heads Claim “Orwellian” Moves By Activision
The lawsuit filed against Activision by two ex-Infinity Ward leads alleges that the publisher of its Modern Warfare games carried out an “Orwellian,” “pre-ordained” investigation designed to “manufacture a basis to fire” them in order to avoid paying them bonuses. That suit, filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on March 3, was filed by…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 4, 2010 -
Where To Next For Call Of Duty?
The writing is on the wall. With Infinity Ward’s leadership removed, and Activision announcing a raft of new titles, the market is about to be saturated with Call of Duty games. So we figured we’d lend a hand. Rather than simply release an endless stream of World War 2 games, which is what ruined Medal…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 3, 2010 -
Infinity Ward Still “Central To Call Of Duty’s Future”
While something rotten has definitely gone down between publishers Activision and the bossmen of Call of Duty developers Infinity Ward, it seems the studio itself is still a key part of the franchise moving forward. An internal memo distributed to members of Infinity Ward earlier today says that while the “brains” of the operation, Vince…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 3, 2010 -
Activision’s New Plans For Call of Duty Include New Developer, New Genres
Publisher Activision announced today new “strategic plans” for the Call of Duty franchise, announcing a new developer for the shooter franchise and confirming the departure of key Infinity Ward staffers. Activision announced it will form a “dedicated [Call of Duty] business unit that will bring together its various new brand initiatives with focused, dedicated resources…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 2, 2010 -
Infinity Ward Vs. Activision: The Battle For Creative Direction
Simmering problems between Activision and Modern Warfare 2 development studio Infinity Ward — involving the creative direction of the Call of Duty series — may have come to a head with yesterday’s dismissal of IW’s two studio heads. The reasons for the dismissal of Jason West and Vince Zampella, the top two men at Infinity…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 2, 2010 -
Guess Which Three Games Help Keep Activision Afloat
Activision is a giant company with a small problem: Most of their revenue comes from three video games. Buried in Activision’s annual report for Fiscal Year 2009, the same one that had news of a major shake-up at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward, were some interesting numbers. “A significant portion of our…
By Brian Crecente Published March 2, 2010 -
Report: Modern Warfare Dev Head Leaves Company
According to his Linkedin page, CEO and Studio Head of Infinity Ward Vince Zampella has parted ways with the Call of Duty developer, as the strange goings-on at the development studio continue. Keen-eyed Kotaku reader Sam passed along a link to Zampella’s Linkedin page this morning, showing that the employment status had changed to TBD…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2010 -
Scandal Hits Call Of Duty Devs: What We Know [Update]
While most of you slept, drama struck Infinity Ward, the creators of the Call of Duty series, with allegations of “insubordination” from publishers Activision and the rumoured departure of the studio’s two top men. This post will be updated throughout the day. The news first hit yesterday afternoon, when G4 reported that IW heads Vince…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010 -
Déjà Vu Surrounds Infinity Ward Rumors
Strange, hazy things are happening at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward. This wouldn’t be the first time for the studio. In 2002, nearly a dozen developers walked out of Tulsa-based studio 2015, the team behind the PC game Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Rumor has it that the developers did not want…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2010 -
Report: Strange Things Are Afoot At Infinity Ward; President Ousted?
Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward is now home to a very strange, currently very unclear story, as G4 reports that security guards have stormed the developer, with studio heads currently missing in action. While that all sounds like scary stuff, there’s very little in the way of actual detail here. Infinity Ward leads Vince…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 1, 2010 -
It Would Be Like Call Of Duty, But You Would Only Control A Leg
Would you play a multiplayer video game in which you only controlled one limb of a character, while your friends controlled the others? What if, I asked a developer of a Transformers game, it was Devastator’s leg? Don’t expect to play the role of Scrapper or Mixmaster any time soon. While multiplayer gaming is huge…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 1, 2010 -
Where Have All The Zombies Gone?
The Infected. Los Ganados. Majini. Parasite hosts. Some of the biggest “zombie” games in recent years don’t feature the undead. Why can’t we call a spade a spade, burying it in the neck of a good old-fashioned undead zombie? This is a conversation we’ve been having fairly often lately at Kotaku Tower, mainly due to…
By Mike Fahey Published February 26, 2010 -
Why We Play Games, And Why We Grumble About Them
Sometimes, one gamer’s flaw is another’s feature. Even the highest-rated games aren’t always perfect – but what determines the flaws we’ll tolerate versus the ones we can’t forgive? It all depends on why you play games. Some of our best-loved gaming experiences, from God Hand to Psychonauts, earn adoration for the strength of their ideas…
Leigh Alexander Published February 25, 2010 -
Rumor: Next Call Of Duty Is A Cold War Game
Those rumours that Treyarch’s next Call of Duty game is set in Vietnam? They might only be partially correct, if a supposed casting call for actors for the game is anything to go by. The call, spotted by VG247, is looking for four actors to provide a mixture of voice work, facial capture and full-body…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 19, 2010 -
Activision Has Call of Duty 7 Loaded For Holiday
Given the “disproportionate contribution” that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 provided to Activision Blizzard’s well-padded bottom line, it won’t come as a surprise that the next Call of Duty game is coming this holiday season. See? You’re not surprised. Activision Blizzard confirmed its plans to “continue annualizing” the first-person shooter franchise with the still-unnamed…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010