Sledgehammer's COD spin-off sidelined

By Fred Dutton Published 23 June, 2011

"Franchise extension" could still happen.

An action adventure title set in the Call of Duty universe that Sledgehammer Games was working on before it was drafted in to help out on Modern Warfare 3 could still see release, Activision has revealed.

Publishing chief Eric Hirshberg told IndustryGamers that the project hasn't been forgotten but the studio is currently concentrating its efforts on helping Infinity Ward finish up MW3.

“They were originally working on an extension of the Call of Duty franchise into an action/adventure genre and that’s a game I still want to play,” he explained. “That’s a supreme, incredible group doing that. All I can say is right now they’re 100% focused on Modern Warfare 3."

Sledgehammer was set-up in 2009 by Glen Schofield, the man who created Dead Space for EA, so it should know its onions.

Modern Warfare 3 thunders onto PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 8th November.

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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 (15) Latest comment 11 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • the_dudefather #1 11 months ago

    Not being able to work on a call of duty game because you're busy working on a call of duty game? sounds like a game development version of a mythological afterlife punishment

  • neilka #2 11 months ago

    Is there a Call of Duty "universe"? Isn't it meant to be the real world?

  • captain_Carl #3 11 months ago

    Fan-fucking-tastic.

    Also, an action adventure game set in a bland, boring universe. Sounds like just the game i want

  • kadooosh #4 11 months ago

    Negative comment regarding cod for the sake of it.

  • Lexx87 #5 11 months ago

    Why on earth are you guys complaining about the potential fresh idea for COD, or for anything from Activision?

    Instead of rightly bemoaning the fact that fresh idea was 'sidelined' so MORE SHOOTY SHOOTY can happen quicker.

  • Tryhard #6 11 months ago

    COD Kart. COD Sims.COD of Warcraft.COD of War 4. Elder COD Scrolls the screaming kid 5. Alien V COD.COD PInball Classics.

  • riceNpea #7 11 months ago

    whatever the new game is i hope there's a prestige mode so i can have a sense of achievement.

    Activision needs something to freshen it's portfolio. EA are taking it to town as far as diversity goes. i hope it comes up with a winner as it can only be healthy for us all if we have these 2 behemoths trying to outdo each other.

  • BuddyChrist #8 11 months ago

    COD and chips, James COD, CODfather, Harry CODder..... this has gotten bland, repetitive, and derivative, if I had a gun, it'd be like COD.... *gets coat*

  • jablonski #9 11 months ago

    "Negative comment regarding cod for the sake of it."

    Fred Dutton daily COD story for the sake of it

  • coolbritannia #10 11 months ago

    Seeing as though New York is on fire and World War 3 is in full swing, I think it's safe to say COD has it's own universe.

  • Shakey_Jake33 #11 11 months ago

    @Lexx87 - I suppose it's because no-one really believes that Activision are doing this because they want to do something new or original with the IP. They wanted to do this because more different stems they have from the core of the IP, the more potential there is for revenue. If people felt that Activision wanted to do this because they wanted to give a few new ideas a go, people would be less critical.

  • icematt12 #12 11 months ago

    Talk of CoD 2012 starts before the release of the 2011 game?

  • eltonpr0n #13 11 months ago

    Sledgehammer are now stuck in the Kotick COD machine. Next they will be doing maps for Treyarch.

  • gamerindia #14 11 months ago

    I think it will be called COD Kinect

  • carlitoswagon #15 11 months ago

    A studio/Dev with some fresh ideas is no bad thing. Thats my main gripe with cod and it's samey samey approach over the years. Can't see this changing for the multiplayer fps part, so really this will just be a different game with cod pasted into the title and a few familiar game characters thrown in.

    Considering the talent involved it will still be one to watch.