If you’re getting sick of yearly Call of Duty sequels, then blame your fellow gamer. According to Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, the demand for Call of Duty is higher than ever thanks to fans who can’t get enough.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Hirshberg states that, “The cadence of the releases seems to have found a nice equilibrium with people’s appetite. There’s demand and excitement each and every time out. Then people are playing throughout the year. We have our biggest community of players today. Right now there are more people playing Call of Duty today than ever, which is remarkable for a franchise that’s been around as long as Call of Duty has. But, we don’t take anything for granted.”
One way to keep the system running is through the practice of alternating development between Infinity Ward and Treyarch, the latter which developed last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. “Having alternating studios is one of the secrets to the franchise’s success. You have different creative people who are strong willed and have minds of their own. Everyone gets what makes a great Call of Duty game. Treyarch and Infinity Ward are the masters, and have built this thing. So, there’s a lot of common DNA from year to year.
“But then people come in and want to top each other. There’s some healthy competition. There’s a desire within the creative team to not do the same thing and not be stagnant, the same way there is in the player community. Overall it seems to be a good system.”
That system shows no signs of failing any time soon, as demand is significantly strong for Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Ghosts, which will be releasing on November 5th worldwide.
