Activision: new COD won't beat MW2

Activision, perhaps understandably, is not expecting the new Call of Duty game to top Modern Warfare 2's record breaking performance.

Boss Mike Griffith said the publisher has "not planned on repeating the same level of success on this year's title", partly because of tougher competition expected around Christmas - last year's flock migrated to Q1 2010.

Nevertheless, Activision is still "bullish" with expectations of both performance and quality from the new Call of Duty 2010, reported GamesIndustry.biz.

Modern Warfare 2, developed by Infinity Ward, smashed most game-related sales record. The title has gone on to become Activision Blizzard's third billion-dollar game in the space of two years.

Activision also announced plans to release a new Guitar Hero game and DJ Hero 2, as well as an additional Tony Hawk title that will use the new skateboard peripheral. Griffith noted that ratings for Tony Hawk Ride were "not as high as we'd hoped for" and said the peripheral "could potentially have different applications in the future".

Activision said there will be new games in the James Bond and Spiderman franchises later this year, too.