The source of the stir created by a Modern Warfare-themed countdown site - believed to be announcing another sequel, or a competitor's - has been traced to a Canadian troupe set to debut a Modern Warfare film next week.
Geoff Keighley of GTTV reports that "We Can Pretend," a Toronto-based artist's collective, is behind both the Web site FindMakarov.com and the mailing of novelty dogtags referencing the site to some in the press. The registry of the FindMakarov site was concealed but based in Toronto.
Update: Keighley has a still from the movie. It's at the link below.
Update 2: We've been sent a second still, of one of the game's trademark riot shields.
The site's countdown clock expires on Wednesday, which is the middle of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Many assumed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 would be announced there. When an Activision representative released a statement calling the entire thing an outright hoax, suspicion then fell on Electronic Arts, which will debut its Modern Warfare competitor, Battlefield 3, at the show.
Whether deliberate or just good timing, We Can Pretend scored a viral PR victory for its film. "Production sources who worked on the self-funded project call it visually spectacular." Keighley writes.
What is FindMakarov? Exclusive New Details! [Geoff Keighley via Device magazine]