Report: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Campaign Developed Under Intense Time Constraints
The development team reportedly faced a tight schedule of just a year and a half to create the campaign for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is just hours away, and reviews for its campaign mode have been rather negative. A recent report suggests that part of this may be attributed to the campaign being developed in a significantly shorter timeframe compared to previous Call of Duty games.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Call of Duty campaigns typically take around three years to develop. However, the story mode for Modern Warfare 3 was created in less than a year and a half. This resulted in immense pressure for the development teams, and now, with Microsoft's ownership of Activision Blizzard, there is concern that any negative perception might reflect poorly on them.
Due to the rushed development of the game, several developers had to put in extra hours during nights and weekends to ensure its timely release. Consequently, some developers felt ignored, echoing previous complaints made during the development of Call of Duty: Vanguard.
Additionally, the developers were frustrated with being compelled to seek approval from Infinity Ward executives for their work. As a result, they experienced delays in implementing changes and were occasionally forced to make undesired alterations in accordance with the executives' preferences.
According to the Bloomberg report, Modern Warfare III was rushed due to its intention to replace another CoD game initially planned for this year. Originally intended as DLC, development for Modern Warfare III progressed, resulting in its transformation into a full-fledged game.
It is important to note that an Activision spokesperson refuted the rumors of Modern Warfare III starting as DLC. However, a few unnamed CoD developers have supported the original claim. The majority of developers working on the game were under the assumption that it would be an expansion until later in the development process. Aaron Halon, the studio head of Sledgehammer, clarified that confusion within the development team stemmed from it being "a new type of direct sequel."
Originally, the game's storyline was planned to be set in Mexico during its early development stages. However, the idea was discarded by Activision executives last summer. They instead instructed the team to make it a sequel to Modern Warfare 2, with Makarov as the main antagonist. This decision led to the development team having to create an entirely new campaign within a tight timeframe of around one and a half years.
Check out our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III review by S.E. Doster, where they mentioned that while the narrative setup of the game is enjoyable, it struggles with having almost half of its missions falling short in terms of the underwhelming Open Combat style.
Editor's P/S
As an enthusiastic fan of the Call of Duty franchise, I am deeply concerned about the recent report suggesting that the campaign for Modern Warfare 3 was developed under intense time constraints. The fact that the development team was given only a year and a half to create the campaign is, in my opinion, unacceptable. It is no wonder that the reviews for the campaign have been rather negative, as it seems clear that the developers simply did not have enough time to create a truly polished and engaging experience.
I am also troubled by the reports that the developers were forced to work extra hours during nights and weekends in order to meet the deadline. This is not only unfair to the developers, but it also raises concerns about the quality of the final product. When developers are forced to work under such intense pressure, it is inevitable that some corners will be cut and that the game will suffer as a result.
I urge Activision to take a step back and reconsider its approach to game development. It is clear that the current system is not sustainable and that it is leading to rushed and disappointing games. I believe that Activision needs to give its developers more time and resources in order to create truly great games that will live up to the expectations of fans.
