All articles tagged with #infinity ward
COD 2026, led by Infinity Ward, will skip last-gen consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) for the first time in about 14 years, launching only on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with reports it won’t be on Game Pass at launch.
Chance Glasco, a co-founder of Infinity Ward, claims Activision pressured the studio to make a Call of Duty game depicting Iran invading Israel, viewing it as political propaganda; he and other developers reportedly resisted, arguing that the series’ early missions already highlighted war’s ugliness and were not intended as propaganda.
Vince Zampella claims that Call of Duty was created by Activision to compete with Medal of Honor, which EA was developing; this rivalry led to the rise of the popular FPS franchise, with Zampella later founding Respawn Entertainment and now leading Battlefield.
After firing Infinity Ward's founders, Activision offered staff a 50% pay increase and urged them to "take the money and get over it." The fallout led to a mass exodus of employees to join the founders at Respawn Entertainment, causing a significant impact on the development of Modern Warfare 3. The incident sparked a legal battle between Activision and the founders, which was eventually settled out of court.
A former Infinity Ward staff member revealed how Activision tried to persuade the team to stay after firing the studio's founders, Vince Zampella and Jason West, by offering a 50% salary increase and unpaid bonuses for shipping Modern Warfare 2. Despite Activision's attempts, around 40 developers quit, leading to a mass exodus from the studio. The aftermath of the firings resulted in lawsuits, the founding of Respawn Entertainment, and subsequent successful game releases from both Infinity Ward and Respawn.
Call of Duty's grip on gamers may be slipping as it landed in second place in yearly sales for the first time since 2009, with Hogwarts Legacy taking the top spot. Instagram introduces Nighttime Nudges to encourage teen users to go to bed after 10 minutes of scrolling, and Apple's Vision Pro headset won't have YouTube and Spotify apps at launch. The Rabbit R1 will be powered by Perplexity's AI, offering up-to-date answers to users.
Infinity Ward has opened a new studio in Austin, Texas, focused on creating new and innovative experiences for the Call of Duty franchise. The studio aims to develop state-of-the-art technology to power these experiences and provides a safe and empowering environment for creativity. Activision now has over a dozen studios working on the Call of Duty franchise.
The original Modern Warfare from 2007 is still considered the best and most forward-thinking campaign in the Call of Duty series. Its carefully measured tempo, varied missions, and nuanced exploration of modern conflict set it apart from other entries. Despite its age, the game's design remains strong and its greatest hits, such as the nuclear warhead detonation, are still memorable. While subsequent sequels have fallen short, the original Modern Warfare continues to reign as the king of Call of Duty campaigns.
The original Call of Duty, released in 2003, revolutionized the first-person shooter genre with its cinematic campaign and innovative multiplayer. Inspired by war movies and the desire to create a more immersive experience, Infinity Ward introduced AI squadmates, intense set pieces, and a sense of camaraderie that set it apart from other shooters at the time. The game's success led to the creation of a franchise that continues to dominate the gaming industry today, with its influence seen in the evolution of multiplayer progression systems and the impact it had on subsequent shooters.
Infinity Ward responded to community feedback by temporarily reducing the player count in Warzone's Massive Resurgence mode from 150 to 100, citing the need for less chaos during The Haunting event. However, fans criticized the developers for only starting to listen to feedback now and for still getting it wrong. Comparisons were drawn between how Sledgehammer Games and Infinity Ward handled community concerns, with players frustrated by Infinity Ward's refusal to revert changes even after complaints during the MW2 beta. The decreased player count is temporary and will be reverted after the event ends.
Infinity Ward confirmed that DMZ in Warzone 2 will undergo a progress reset in Season 4, including insured weapon slots, faction mission progress, contraband, key, and mission inventories. The reset is to make room for new mission sets and upgrades, and new ways to unlock insured weapon slots. The wipe will not affect earned rewards such as blueprints, skins, and calling cards. Season 4 starts on June 14.
Infinity Ward's multiplayer design director, Geoff Smith, has responded to criticism of the Santa Sena border crossing map in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, stating that the map was designed to be fun rather than perfectly balanced. The map has been criticised for its narrow layout and bumper-to-bumper traffic, with all cars being destructible. Smith explained that the map was inspired by the film Sicario and that Infinity Ward tries to balance experiential maps with more competitive ones.
Shipment, one of the most iconic maps in the Call of Duty franchise, was never meant to be included in the game, according to developers at Infinity Ward. Originally designed as a split-screen map, it was used for internal tests during the development of Modern Warfare and was accidentally left in the game's playlist script. Since its debut in 2007, Shipment has become one of the most popular maps in the franchise, making appearances in five other mainline CoD titles.
Infinity Ward's "Throwback Audio Pack" for Modern Warfare 2 has been criticized by fans for only applying to two guns in the bundle, despite the original teaser implying that the sound pack would be for all guns and equipment. The blueprints, named "Good Ol' Days" and "Lachmann Classic," also come with a "Classic Soap" skin. Fans are disappointed that the iconic Intervention sniper rifle sound is not included and speculate that the developers are holding back the combination of Intervention and Deagle for another bundle.
Infinity Ward responded to community concerns after an unintentional tactical sprint nerf in the Season 2 Reloaded update for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2. The change was due to an investigation around the melee sprint reset exploit, which allowed players to reset the tactical sprint animation by meleeing. The developers announced a hotfix to correct the irregular animation and behavior to Tactical Sprint.