Call of Duty: Ghosts is real, and it is the next generation of the franchise, according to publisher Activision.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":728961,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"A"}']Activision and developer Infinity Ward, the studio responsible for the Modern Warfare games, will fully unveil the game during Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox reveal on May 21 at 10 a.m. Pacific. The publisher also confirmed Ghosts for the PlayStation 4, the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, and the PC. The press release failed to mention a version for Nintendo’s Wii U. We’ve contacted the publisher to determine if it is skipping that struggling system.
For now, Infinity Ward is providing sparse details about its new first-person shooter. The studio confirmed it is leaving behind the world of Modern Warfare. Ghosts takes place in a new universe with new characters.
More important for longtime Call of Duty fans, Infinity Ward is promising a totally new “next-gen engine” to power Ghosts’ visuals. Both Infinity Ward and its sister Call of Duty developer Treyarch have used the same engine (with slight tweaks) since 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
“Infinity Ward set the gold standard for first-person action for a generation, and they’re going to do it again with Call of Duty: Ghosts,” Activision Publishing chief executive Eric Hirshberg said in a statement. “Infinity Ward is going all-in to create the next generation of Call of Duty worthy of the world’s greatest fans.”
“Everyone was expecting us to make Modern Warfare 4, which would have been the safe thing to do,” Rubin said in a statement. “But we’re not resting on our laurels. We saw the console transition as the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter for Call of Duty. So we’re building a new subbrand, a new engine, and a lot of new ideas and experiences for our players. We can’t wait to share them with our community.”
Microsoft and Activision have also held a tight-knit relationship over the last few years when it comes to Call of Duty. The Xbox 360 has always received preferential treatment when it comes to the downloadable content. Expansions hit at least a month earlier on Microsoft’s console compared to Sony’s hardware or PC.
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That partnership is likely to continue with Ghosts making its big debut at Microsoft’s next Xbox event.
“We are consistently thrilled with the overwhelming response received from critics and consumers alike to the Call of Duty series, which has firmly established its home on the Xbox 360 with the game’s largest and most engaged community,” Microsoft president of interactive entertainment Don Mattrick said. “With Call of Duty: Ghosts, we have no doubt that our longtime partners, Activision and Infinity Ward, will raise the bar higher than ever before for this incredible franchise.”
Activision still hasn’t revealed any gameplay, so expect a storm of details on May 21. GamesBeat will have full coverage of that event, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and any other Xbox-related announcements at that time.
In past years, Activision has always pushed the next Call of Duty hard with a new trailer that runs invariably during the NBA playoffs. That tradition could continue with Ghosts, although the Xbox event may fully replace a big marketing spend of that nature.