Activision Did Not Want CoD: Modern Warfare

Activision wanted more World War II. We're glad Infinity Ward didn't.

It's hard to imagine that any publisher wouldn't want a stunning shooter series such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in their stable, but it turns out that Activision originally rejected the idea.

"With Call of Duty 2, we were dead set against it being World War 2," Infinity Ward boss Vince Zampella told the Official PlayStation Magazine, as reported by CVG. "And something I'll add to that, Activision also did not want Modern Warfare. They thought working on a modern game was risky and [thought], 'oh my god you can't do that, it's crazy!' They were doing market research to show us we were wrong the whole time."

"We had to fight for everything," chimed in CoD project lead, Jason West. "They wanted it to be World War 2. Again."

Of course, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ended up being one of the biggest hits of 2007 and its sequel, Modern Warfare 2 will easily be one of the biggest for 2009.