Roughly a year ago the incredibly successful team at Infinity Ward, which was responsible for tens of millions of sales in the Call of Duty franchise, came to the spotlight after several members left around the same time a few high-ranking employees being fired. It was at that point in time that the future of Modern Warfare laid in question for the first time in history. It was additionally surprising when we learned that Sledgehammer Games, an Activision subsidiary, would be taking over the reigns, but nobody could have anticipated how quickly they would react.
Just days ago, Modern Warfare 3 was officially announced after several weeks of rumors. You might have even seen the teaser trailer while watching T.V. during primetime hours. A few retailers subsequently opened up pre-orders for the title, adding a placeholder release date of November 8th, 2011.
Given how short of a period of time Sledgehammer Games has been given to operate, it’s quite surprising to see the possibility of another yearly Holiday release date. Call of Duty has been releasing within this window for years now, and has consistently topped charts. So much, in-fact, that some developers have delayed the release of their products to avoid being overcast by the enormous hype surrounding the series.
Now it’s 2011, and later this year many extremely high potential titles are set to release around the November timeframe, among them Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and even EA’s heavyweight competitor Battlefield 3. Mass Effect 3 was originally one of the top contendors on the list, but was recently delayed into next year. Looking at the history of the gaming industry, delays and disappointing sales have been common for games released around the time a new Call of Duty title comes out.
Whatever the case, the video premier for Modern Warfare 3 is now only days away, and should carry a solid release date, but might some delays occur if it does plan to land this year? Has Sledgehammer Games’ ability to quickly fall in line been bad news for some developers, and as a result some additional delays will be seen? Share what you think in the comments below.
