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Activision Confirms Call of Duty Title for 2013 Release

Activision is going to publish another Call of Duty game towards the tail end of this year. Just try and look surprised, yeah?

"The Call of Duty franchise continues to set the bar for innovation and we expect a new Call of Duty game in development for 2013 to raise that bar even higher," blah-blahed CFO Dennis Durkin during the company’s financials conference call yesterday.

"There is increased volatility this year due to the ongoing console transition, which makes predicting the future more challenging than during normal uses in the cycle. For Call of Duty, consistent with our past practices, we are planning for the main line release in Q4 to be down versus 2012.”

Activision’s typical release pattern for Call of Duty games is to alternate between Treyarch’s Black Ops and Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare titles, which means 2013 may see the arrival of Modern Warfare 4.

We’ll have to wait and see. No official details have yet been revealed.

The Call of Duty franchise continues to set the bar for innovation

Within the FPS genre they have innovated a fair bit, as can be seen for everything copying what they do and homogenising the market. Moreso in the first couple of games, admittedly.

Not so much for video gaming as a whole.

So in 2008, they were quite innovative. Agreed.

But it's now 2013.

An endless cycle of COD.

I imagine being a programmer at Activision must be really dull. As soon as you've finished one COD game, then you have to start work on the next one.

An endless cycle of COD.

This also applies to working at THQ and the WWE games.

Fuck you
\

I suspect she still is.

:(

next generation engine, which will run on this generation consoles.

Wait, what?

Engine generation != console generation, I guess.

Yeah

In fairness though, isn't that all it ever means?

Technically yeah, I s'spose; but given the imminent arrival of the PS4 etc and what the term 'next generation' has come to mean in gaming circles recently there's no way they're not muddying the two concepts on purpose. Marketing twats are twats.

BF3 showed that you can get some really nice effects out of a new engine but I dont really think its the engine which has been holding things back for COD.

Really, technically? It's better looking and holds together loads better than, say, Battlefield on the consoles.

Has anything really been holding things back for CoD though? I know that the hardcore CoD gamers from here don't play anything like the amount we used to but that's down to life rather than anything else; some had babies, some moved countries, some changed jobs. The amount of people worldwide who still play CoD is phenomenal and surely the publishers don't really see a problem with the franchise.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see them try something different but I still can't deny that the various CoDs have been my favourite online gaming experience and personally the reason I haven't put as much time into the more recent ones has been because there has been less playing with people on here, rather than anything due to the gameplay itself.

I'll get the next xbox probably when I get back to europe. Would be good to have some bezzie gaming fun again. Don't think I've played an xbox in nearly a year!

Really, Battlefield? It plays like a bag of shit in a jar of syrup.

Call of Duty X: 10 games later, why fans still care

If Activision didn't abandon Call of Duty's numbering scheme with 2008's World at War, this year's Ghosts would be Call of Duty 10. Ever since 2008, Activision's FPS franchise has seen an annual release, and against all odds, has managed to continuously grow its sales numbers. Even before an official reveal, the franchise has developed a loyal fanbase willing to buy new Call of Duty games, sight unseen. We talked to a number of Call of Duty fans about why they're still interested in COD a decade in, and what Activision can do to keep them playing for years to come.

Every year's Call of Duty seems to get bigger, with new modes continuously introduced in every iteration. Treyarch's games especially have essentially become three games in one, with a single-player campaign, multiplayer, and a co-op zombies mode. There's a reason why there's so much content packed onto the disc. Our interviews reveal that fans keep coming back for very different reasons.

As expected, many players come year after year for multiplayer. "Call of Duty has transcended from a game to a service--much like Madden. As long as Infinity Ward can deliver on keeping the multiplayer fresh and the campaign exciting, the community will follow," @joshkocurek told us on Twitter. "The multiplayer is crazy addictive. Everyone can make a kill and everyone can be killed."

People seem to love the "accessibility" of Call of Duty's multiplayer, especially the "ability to get a quick game or two in," according to @mcdoobie. And because Call of Duty is so huge, it's always easy to find a multiplayer game "at any time of the day," a feature that's crucial to Mike from the Terrible Mistakes podcast. He tells us that Call of Duty isn't just a game, but essentially a social network. "Because the series is so popular at this point, it's become one of my most enjoyable ways of staying in touch with friends."

But fans of narrative single-player experiences also come back year after year as well. Shacker Entity told us that although he's "not really into the franchise exactly, I still have fun once a year with the SP campaigns." @ZQuestion told us that although multiplayer "is where most players go to first in the COD series," but that "it's same thing the past few years with a new coat of paint." Instead, he opts to play single-player every year, pointing out to Black Ops' "interesting storyline of mind-control and manipulation."

Having alternating studios work on the Call of Duty games has also been a boon for the franchise, as gamers that don't necessarily care for Infinity Ward may like Treyarch, and vice versa. "The Modern Warfare series is a mess," YouTuber MrBrawl96 told us. But, he absolutely loves zombies mode, crediting "the cooperation needed with the subtle douchebaggery." Mike, on the other hand, prefers games from Infinity Ward, thanks to the goodwill it built from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. He plans on buying Ghosts simply because "I expect it to be from Infinity Ward."

Because there are so many different reasons for gamers to get into Call of Duty, it seems as though there is no standout title in the franchise that defines the "best" of the franchise. Everyone seems to have a different "favorite" game in the series. World at War may have the "best campaign," while Black Ops 2 has the "best zombies," according to MrBrawl96. Call of Duty 4 is popular amongst Shackers, but we saw responses praising Modern Warfare 2 as well.

While the fans we talked to couldn't agree on what makes the series so appealing, many said exactly the same thing when we asked if the franchise had made a mistake. "Call of Duty Elite Premium was a mistake," MrBrawl96 told us. "Call of Duty Elite definitely feels like a 'One Percenters' type of club," @joshkocurek added. "When it was first coming out, it sounded like anyone in the community would be interested in it, but it quickly became a top-tier, clan-based tool."

Bundling Elite and DLC didn't work for players that didn't want to commit to a "season of content." "I might not buy and play every map pack, or DLC, but by the time the next release rolls around, I am ready to play it again," Mike explained to us. Given the reaction to Elite amongst self-described fans of the franchise, it's no surprise why Activision abandoned the Elite subscription model in favor for a more traditional DLC schedule.

While critics of Call of Duty think of it as "more of the same," the franchise seems unlikely to fail due to oversaturation. Instead, it seems like the fanbase's wildly divergent expectations--created by the wide appeal of Call of Duty's many hats--may eventually splinter the base. For example, MrBrawl96 tells Activision that future games need "zombies and don't f-ck with me." Mike, on the other hand, wants a COD "in space." @ZQuestion would love to see the series "pull a Bad Company," while others want the multiplayer to be less "n00b friendly"--one of the reasons why the franchise was so popular to begin with.

Ten games into the franchise, Call of Duty has become many things to many different people. And for now, it's earned a dedicated following that trusts the brand enough to buy new games sight unseen. However, fans will expect Ghosts to be many things--a lofty challenge for Activision to overcome this year and every following year, in Call of Duty's second decology.

Of course, no sensible girl will play as one online in Call of Duty, though.

Of course, no sensible girl will play as one online in Call of Duty, though.

SDG and Jen will ?

SDG and Jen will ?

Yeah, but my Aunt and her fiancée are not sensible people.

The secret achievements recently hit the web this week but before we go any further, consider the possible spoilers ahead.

Ten of the recently leaked secret achievements happen to be related to the new Extinction mode which might offer some clues on what the new mode is all about. What’s interesting is that four of the ten “Extinction Challenges” have the word “Escape” in it…

And is it just me, or does this look like some type of Alien skull?


The unique skull above is featured in a couple of the achievement icons. Another noteworthy achievement is “Any Means necessary” which you unlock by “Get 50 kills with the electric fence and fire traps in a single game.”