Modern Warfare prequel rumoured

By Fred Dutton Published 5 January, 2011

Infinity Ward comeback to tell Ghost story?

Infinity Ward's first game since the headline grabbing sackings of early 2010 will be a prequel to the first Modern Warfare, according to insider chit-chat.

ThisisXbox's source claims that the game will be set immediately before the events of Infinity Ward's 2007 shooter. It will delve into the backstory of the Ghost character and explain how he was recruited into Task Force 141.

Apparently, narrative cues will be cribbed from David Lapham's comic book series and you'll be revisiting locations from the other two Modern Warfare titles, albeit from a different perspective.

The source, who apparently has a track record of being spot-on with these sorts of things, also revealed that the shooter will use the Modern Warfare 2 engine, rather than sporting new tech.

There's no word on when it'll see the light of day though. However, seeing as speculation points towards Sledgehammer Games' possibly intergalactic series debut being your 2011 fix, a 2012 release might be a safe bet.

But with Singularity developer Raven also rumoured to be working on Activision's FPS juggernaut, who can say?

Infinity Ward's last effort, Modern Warfare 2, stormed the high street in 2009, winning a 9/10 rave from Eurogamer. Then it all royally kicked off early last year when owner Activision gave studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West the old heave-ho for reasons that remain not entirely clear.

The various, increasingly expensive, lawsuits surrounding that snafu are ongoing.

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 10 months ago

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  • JJrabbit #1 1 year ago

    They've listened to people complaining about sequels and have done something about it! :D

  • sfp_noodle #2 1 year ago

    This should be an expansion pack. By the time 2012 rolls around, the COD formula will be familiar even to unborn babies.

  • schnide #3 1 year ago

    Learn your lessons from Guitar Hero, Activision..

  • Centrifugal #4 1 year ago

    None of the characters in Modern Warfare were fleshed out enough to make me want a prequel exploring their pasts. If this rumour holds true then Infinity Ward will need to master a basic storytelling technique known as character development.

  • ElNino9 #5 1 year ago

    Good news I suppose, I'll only be buying another CoD if it's made by IW. Black Ops was complete shit.

  • Golgo #6 1 year ago

    Using MW2 tech, the man said. It just gets better and better.

  • cw- #7 1 year ago

    Using MW2 tech, the man said. It just gets better and better.

    AND revisiting locations from MW/MW2.. it really will be a copy+paste job :p

  • Feanor #8 1 year ago

    Lazy cash-in. DNW.

  • StueyBoy16 #9 1 year ago

    I seem to remember the guy who voices Ghost said something about him getting his own game.

    I think it was just after the release of Modern Warfare 2.

  • man.the.king #10 1 year ago

    @Astro-Creature

    "So the cliffhanger ending in MW2 was for nothing? "

    If they tried to visit that part of the story, Activision would sue them.

    As it is, a prequel or a spin-off involving NONE of the MW characters is probably the only way they can tie their games to the MW storyline (and I use the term "story" in "storyline" VERY VERY LOOSELY here)

  • Golgo #11 1 year ago

    @man.the.king: I think you've got wrong end of the stick. This is being made by the rump of IW, not by Respawn.

  • TheGuvernor #12 1 year ago

    Very disappointing news.
    Flogging a dying horse...

    The thing that made the BO campaign so compelling was the strength of the story & characters.

  • justice-ste #13 1 year ago

    Call of Duty 9 Current Warfare
    Edited by justice-ste at 05/01/11 @ 18:22

  • sneetch #14 1 year ago

    Call of Duty: Slightly Out-Dated Warfare it is then.

  • Kaminari #15 1 year ago

    Sounds like recycling old material for making a quick buck.

  • el_pollo_diablo #16 1 year ago

    "the shooter will use the Modern Warfare 2 engine"

    - worrying.

  • Eraysor #17 1 year ago

    I'm sort of glad it's using the MW2 engine because at least that one actually works on the PC.

    Don't give a crap about the game though; it's been milked to death now.

  • Eraysor #18 1 year ago

    I'm sort of glad it's using the MW2 engine because at least that one actually works on the PC.

    Don't give a crap about the game though; it's been milked to death now.

  • hiddenranbir #19 1 year ago

    They're so desperate to keep a connection with MW, sad really.

    War which is only less Modern than Modern War.

  • man.the.king #20 1 year ago

    @Golgo

    "I think you've got wrong end of the stick. This is being made by the rump of IW, not by Respawn. "

    Oh - guess I got it wrong then.

    Thanks.

  • Cpt_McOneball #21 1 year ago

    If this is released as is rumoured in 2012, and it's not using any upgrade to the engine... Surely Sledgehammer's title will be doing the same?

    4 games on the same engine over 4 years is not good, Activision*

    *Although even with a new engine, you can forget about my purchase

  • niteninja #22 1 year ago

    The movie industry is bad enough for pumping the shit out of sequels but at least it takes a few years off before each film.
    I couldnt give a fuck about call of duty there are far better and more original games out in 2011.

  • Breach #23 1 year ago

    Eurogamer Readers' vote didn't exactly mirror the universal praise that the latest CoD received.

    I'm sure in a year or two, the crowds might start getting the idea too.

  • Olemak #24 1 year ago

    Ghost? Who's that? I played the game, twice, but "Ghost" draws a complete blank.

    A prequel starring "Captain MacMillan" from the Tchernobyl level would be more interesting, I think. That way, they could work in a young Price, and besides, games needs more scots in general. So that would be "CoD: Eighties Warfare". With a soundtrack featuring Billy Idol, T'Pau and New Order. Oh, and The Falklands for sure, maybe Grenada, Covert action in Nicaragua, the Iran/Contras scandal, and quite possibly fighting alongside the Taliban against the russkies in Afghanistan!

    Bring it on. Something like that might persuade me to break my ongoing Activision boycott.

    Oh, and since when did the main characters in CoD games have a voice?

  • Phantom_Dynamite #25 1 year ago

    They should do a back story to how Captain Price is part of the British super soldier experiments, because he has been rocking the same mutton chops and tash and not aged a day in 70 years.

  • bad09 #26 1 year ago

    Black Ops has been like a breath of fresh air on COD, now it's working (PC) it's awesome. MW2 battered my love of the series so not really keen to go back there, bring on more COD just maybe another era, loving the 'nam stuff in BLOPS.

  • Mockerre #27 1 year ago

    I'd like to see a prequel about that British captain's moustache - the only character I care about.

    But seriously: MW engine, re-using old assets and maps, just "from a different perspective." I smell a game in the likes of Carckdown 2...

  • Nephirion #28 1 year ago

    Modern Warfare has a story??? I must have missed it ...

  • DRUNK3N-_-DRAGON #29 1 year ago

    @golgo
    this is being made by the last remaining losers of IW

  • Olemak #30 1 year ago

    If they're going to finally add the feature "story" to this franchise then I guess they'll have to start hiring some Ghost writers.

    /thankyougoodnight

  • Climhazzard #31 1 year ago

    I dd find ghost to be a pretty cool looking dude but a game based on him? Utterly pointless. Im a CoD player but im gonna switch to Battlefield very soon i think. Stick with Halo also.

  • zedzee #32 1 year ago

    This is rather dangerous. Have they not saturated the market a bit recently with all their releases? What possible new benefits and features could a prequel add?

    I think they need to give the current releases of COD and MW a bit of breathing room, before embarking on yet another release. That way, gamers can enjoy and maximise, not only the use of, but also the value of their investment in the current crop of COD games.

    It's a great franchise but don't turn it into a cash cow - it needs fresh ideas and that can only come when you've stepped back for a bit.

    Well done, Infinity Ward, but you can take a break now and open the curtains and windows to let some fresh air in your development offices? Crikey, who do they have developing these games - vampires?!

  • MattyD #33 1 year ago

    "revisiting locations"

    In other words, LOL we just reuse old maps, give you couple of new levels, plz 2 b buying now k thnx bye!

  • bratmandu #34 1 year ago

    Wait wait wait - there's a story in these games?

    Won't be parting with my precious cash on what will, no doubt, be shovelware. They got me with MW1 and 2 but I avoided Blops like the plague, glad I did, it sounded like a load of crosshair-wielding-contest bollocks. I'll stick to the Battlefield, at least DICE put a bit of effort into their games, COD hasn't changed since the WW2 versions, except now you can run around with dual shotguns - lol, dumb.

  • makeamazing #35 1 year ago

    Not for me thank you very much!

  • cherryuk #36 1 year ago

    I'm glad they're using the MW2 engine, it's very fluid and quick. Don't need to be slowed down by prettier graphics.

  • james-mw3-mw3 #37 10 months ago

    I find it funny that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (abbreviated as Call of Duty: MW3 or simply MW3) is currently in development by Infinity Ward with assisted development from Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software co-developing multiplayer development, e.g. weapons, maps, perks, etc. That's a lot of developers making MW3!