It was announced earlier this year by Activision that Call of Duty’s two-studio system for the prominent franchise would be switched in favour of a three-studio development cycle, with Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, now claiming that the new approach “will keep the franchise in a lifestyle to which the audience has become accustomed.”
“That extra year of development time, particularly with the new consoles and the more powerful hardware, has really paid off thus far to iterate, innovate and try new things,” Hirshberg told Joystiq during an interview at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. “To find out which things didn’t work and have the freedom to fail in the creative process, so what goes on the disc is the best ideas.”
Developer Sledgehammer Games showcased gameplay for its first title in the franchise, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, at Gamescom and it featured the new exoskeleton mechanic in action, allowing players more versatility in jumping and manoeuvring around maps.
“The thing that the three-year development cycle allows is these games have gotten so ambitious, we’re packing so many different modes of play onto the disc,” Hirshberg added. “The things that started off as flyers, like zombies or co-op became their own whole games.”
During the Microsoft press conference at Gamescom it was confirmed once again that all content for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will head to Xbox first, reiterating what Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, had previously stated at E3 2014.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will be the 11 instalment in the Call of Duty franchise and it’s scheduled for release on November 4 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.