Activision’s recently released Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare successfully wound the FPS genre clock forward to the present day, marking a distinct departure for the popular series as it tore free of the World War II roots that had stood it in such good stead for many years.
Uncovered job posting points to developer Treyarch working on new WWII series addition to Activision's Call of Duty. Credit: Activision.
However, according to a report posted on ShackNews , an uncovered job posting could well indicate that the third-party publisher is not quite prepared to relinquished its vice-like grip on the WWII shooter arena just yet.
Indeed, while the likes of 2007’s Medal of Honor: Airborne failed to fully capitalise on Call of Duty 4’s chronological re-imagining, Activision could well be turning to Call of Duty 3 developer Treyarch in order to bring forth yet another World War II edition of the longstanding series and reinforce its positioning as the premium historic FPS of choice.
According to the job advert, California-based Treyarch is currently looking for new staff that come complete with experience related to "first-person shooter or third-person shooter genres (console or PC)." Furthermore, and here’s the rub, the ad outlines that "if you’re a fan of World War 2 shooters, then even better!"
Treyarch’s experience in the Call of Duty field is certainly widespread in terms of quantity, although perhaps not so prevalent in terms of quality. Unlike the overwhelmingly glowing reception that Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare received, Treyarch’s Call of Duty 3 and Call of Duty: Big Red One failed to rustle up a similar response both critically or commercially.
In terms of direct ‘numerical’ sequels and a constant flow of content, ShackNews offers that 18-month-to-2-year development times for videogames could mean that Treyarch is being put to work on a WWII Call of Duty 5, while Infinity Ward pushes on with Call of Duty 6.
It remains unknown as to whether Activision will choose to expand its ‘Modern Warfare’ interpretation of Call of Duty when assigning Infinity Ward with its next creation, although the largely positive reaction prompted by Call of Duty 4’s arrival may be a fair indication that two series styles are a distinct possibility.
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