250°

Gearbox turned down offer to develop "Call of Duty"-Sequel

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford says he was offered to develop an entry in the "Call of Duty" series but declined the offer because he felt it would not be a "significant challenge".

Pitchford says (translated from the german text): "I don’t think there’s anything to accomplish there. I think if I was only in it for the money I would’ve done that.[...] I think to do “Call of Duty” right you need to do what needs to be done and there are a lot of people who can do that. For us it wouldn’t add to our credibility, it wouldn’t move us forward. There would be no significant challenge that would be gratifying to overcome"

Pitchford also attributes the immense success of the "Call of Duty" franchise to its reliability. Because every new installement is a guaranteed hit in an often unforseeable marlet the series gets unrivaled support from retailers. "It's becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, to a degree", says Pitchford.

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BillySpandex4140d ago

The irony is that Call of Duty under Gearbox would have actually pushed the franchise back to its roots. Amazing military-based Stories and gameplay over twitchgaming for toddlers.

FarCryLover1824140d ago

Do you really think that Activision would allow that / publish that nowadays? No, they wouldn't. Which is sad.

HammadTheBeast4140d ago (Edited 4140d ago )

Exactly. Gearbox knew that Activision would NEVER let them make huge changes, which is why they knew the morale would be low.+1 for Gearbox for having self respect.

Blank4140d ago

Yeah activision would definetly not let gearbox innovate or take chances the proof on that is activisions own dev teams they just rehash it and release it although ill cut treyarch some slack but this article is bout gearbox and the fact they have lots of dignity and self respect I hope they continue to see good success and profits also I laughed at the reason why gearbox shut down the offer its really good an the dot a really good reason because ANY dev team can do call of duty all they need to do is the copy and paste, insert new guns, use 360 as lead, make maps, cut out maps for later dlc, and let activision publish and advertise it

snipes1014139d ago

I dont know. If acti was willing to reach out to someone like gearbox, chances are they werent doing it to get the same result they could likely get for cheap using one of their in house devs. They probably also knew that there was no way they were gonna be able to pull in a big dev from the outside and expect them to bow down to their every whim.

ATi_Elite4140d ago

Good for Gearbox. B-Lands 2 is a great game and COD is just so repetitive it's crazy!

I have no interest to play a game that is talked about by racist, homophobic snot nose 7 year old "Internet Only Gangsters" and Grandmas.

I think Gearbox would of just got lazy and lost all creativity by making a COD but instead we have B-Lands 3 to look forward to.

Ascerendant4140d ago (Edited 4140d ago )

Not sure if I'd consider the gameplay of "Brothers in Arms" or "Borderlands" far ahead of "CoD". I'd agree though that it would be great if Activision would let a studio like Gearbox reinvent "Call of Duty" as they see fit. But as it seems, if you want to do it, you have to go by the formula.

EddieNX 4140d ago

The gameplay in Borderlands is far ahead of CoD...

Borderlands 2 is on a different level of quality to any CoD game.

Ascerendant4140d ago

You really think so? The core gameplay of the early BiA-Games was: "Set guys to suppres, flank, kill" - in endless repetition. Before "Hell's Highway" the storytelling was pathetic war-hero-patriotism. I agree the third one was good, but not better than CoD. "Call of Duty" has gotten atrociously stale but the core gameplay is extremely refined, especially on consoles. Movement, aiming, reaction times etc - this is all extremely well done.

Now "Borderlands 2" - I love the game to death and I've spent more than 70hrs playing it so far. But what's great about "Borderlands 2" is the perfect "carrot on a stick" balance of loot & experience gain combined with an original and fun world. The shooter-mechanics are extremely simplified. So much so that my girlfriend was able to master it in a day (which is great cause now we can play together). "Call of Duty" is way ahead in terms of refined gameplay, IMO. It's just that they take this great core-mechanic and just rehash it over and over and over again.

solid_warlord4139d ago

Call of Duty 20-30 million per game since 2007..
Border land 1-4million per game..

Best selling point of COD Fast paced gameplay at 60fps...far superier feeling than most shooter.

I know Sales doesnt mean everything most of the time but if u sell 20 plus million every bloody year...that means "sale" tell you its one bad ass game that people want.

Everyone hates COD and i am guilty as charged for that, yet most of us still buy it cause no other game provides fast action that doesnt last 30min a game...the game is addictive pure and simple.

Sure the most biggest haters will say its for kids even though it has an 18 plus rated stamped on it. Porn is also 18 plus rated yet most kids watch it in a daily basis but u know wat...porn is still more popular amongs kids than COD could ever hope to be.

Go ahead, press the disagree button...it will prove how many people hate on COD yet they still go buy it. I also like to forcast a prediction. COD will be best selling game 2013 and BO2 DLC will be the best selling DLC on consoles. BO2 will also be the most played game on XBOX Live and PSN. I would also like to predict that this will be disagreed manytimes and the most of the people who press disagree will go and play on COD afterwards and then come back to hate on it on the intenet. If this is true then i am a psychic.

HammadTheBeast4140d ago

Both games are much better than CoD.

NeverEnding19894140d ago

Major kudos to Gearbox. I'm on the fence about getting Borderlands 2, but this article has given me a huge amount of respect for the devs and may have just convinced me.

Disappear Call of Duty. Forever

EddieNX 4140d ago

Borderlands 2 is incredible and the sort of game that Highlights the Distinc lack of quality missing from CoD.

CoD is OK I guess. But it's too dated now , too repetative. Even NSMBU feels a million times fresher than Blops 2.

Kalowest4140d ago

"I'm on the fence about getting Borderlands 2"
WTF, Gearbox is one of this gens best studios, go pick up Borderlands 2.

Genuine-User4140d ago

In my opinion, I find them to be an okay-ish Studio.
Their next game Alien Colonial Marines looks/plays rather average at best.

Riderz13374140d ago

Good. Don't ruin your reputation with that POS.

1nsomniac4140d ago

Easy decision IMO. Although I'm not a COD fan, It's big shoes to fill & gearbox just arnt good enough & they themselves know that & would inevitably have a huge backlash to deal with.

IMO & i've been a hardcore gamer for 25 years, I have absolutely no idea where Gearbox has actually got there high credibility from. The only half decent game they've released was HL Blue-shift & possibly Boderlands which are again IMO both poor quality.

Blastoise4140d ago

Didn't they make Duke Nukem Forever? lol

People are just hating on Call of duty again, and trying to make out like Borderlands is better than it actually is.

1nsomniac4140d ago

Only thing Gearbox are good at is spinning publicity favourable in their direction...

Wish I was that good at covering up bullshit!

FarCryLover1824140d ago

They only finished Duke Nukem Forever. They did it because Randy is friends with many people from 3D Realms, and he used to work there long ago.

They finished the game as more of a favor to them and to Take-Two. I am sure they were self aware that the game wasn't the best, but that's not why they finished up the loose ends.

Kalowest4140d ago

"It's big shoes to fill & gearbox just arnt good enough & they themselves know that & would inevitably have a huge backlash to deal with."

Gearbox is more creative/talented than the COD devs.
Gearbox working on COD is a step-backwards, and they're trying to move ahead.

1nsomniac4140d ago

OK, so in your opinion, name a single thing they have ever done in their entire development history that has been 'creative/talented'??

vickers5004140d ago

@1nsomniac

Borderlands 1
Borderlands 2

I'm not sure whether or not Gearbox created the shoot-and-loot rpg/fps, but they definitely revived it and made it amazing. How many fps/rpgs with randomly generated loot games can you name, other than BL1/BL2? I'm betting none, unless you can find some mediocre indie game somewhere on the internet that has poorly replicated it.

It may not be 100% unique and original, but it sure as hell is creative with it's great art design and game mechanics that don't exist in any other shooter. Oh yeah, and it has a hilarious story, something that only comes along once in a great while for video games.

Your opinion is terrible if you honestly think Borderlands 1/2 are "poor quality". I can understand not liking them, I don't like a lot of popular games that many people swoon over, but I can still recognize their quality/greatness. You fail to recognize Borderlands greatness. It's a shame, you're missing out on an amazing game. Give it a fair chance (play it for more than 2 hours), try it again, and you will finally get why so many people love the franchise.

BlaqMagiq244140d ago

Please elaborate on how Borderlands is poor quality.

Blank4140d ago

I respect your opinion and experience which formed your criticism about gearbox I too have been gaming for many years so I see what your saying its true at first I didnt see gearbox as top tier but in this game generation after borderlands 1 I feel they got a new mindset that after aliens colonial marines we will see better quality things from them im sure they are planning a new brothers in arms game im sure with that game they will assure and showcase there new mindset randy is loving the spike of trust from gamers borderlands garnered for them he wont let it go to waste keep in mind randy pitchford is an old school gamer I mean he was one of the original devs for duke nukem

Ascerendant4140d ago

That is bullshit. Right now Treyarch is running the CoD-Show. Makers of such hits as "Kelly Slaters Pro Surfer" and the "Quantum of Solace" game. If they can take over for Infinitey Ward without missing a beat, Gearbox could at the very least do the same.

Now could Gearbox have made "CoD 4: Modern Warfare" before there was a "CoD4": I agree, they probably wouldn't have. They're still one hell of a studio though.

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120°

Activision Blizzard Faces $23.4M Fine for Patent Infringement

Activision Blizzard ordered to pay $23.4M for patent infringement involving popular games.

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Skuletor3d ago

Another L for Xbox, when are they going to have good news?

MrDead3d ago

I would read the article but the giant pop-ups from the top and bottom of the screen made me close it.

Without reading $23.4 million isn't a deterrent for a company that size.

peppeaccardo3d ago

Boss: Let's fire a few people to recoup on that loss.
Slave: Cortana has decided to get rid of Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks.
Boss: Let's get those Firing Letters "Copilot Approved" and send them through the power of the cloud.
Slave: Long Live Phil !!!
ALL in the room: LONG LIVE PHIL !!!!

rlow13d ago

Well another troll company with a patent trying to extort money out of companies. Seems like they’re going to try and sue everyone.

PRIMORDUS3d ago

Not enough drain them for more, fuck Blizzard POS company.

100°

Please, can Call of Duty leave awful Netflix-style menus behind

Call of Duty games used to be streamlined experiences, but COD 2024’s UI could be another nightmarish clutter of streaming tabs.

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LucasRuinedChildhood15d ago

Let's just leave Call Of Duty behind.

anast14d ago

The isn't for you anymore.

BlackCountryBob14d ago

If we’re beating that drum, can we also stop forcing anyone who wants to play only the single player to download Warzone and all updates BEFORE they are then able to do another download from the menu of the single player campaign. I don’t see why I need 150gb of downloads in several ways to play the single player mode only from a bloomin disk which should have that campaign on it already.

DefenderOfDoom214d ago (Edited 14d ago )

The UI is confusing to me because I have not purchased a Call of Duty iin like 8 years .Only bought CoD MW3 because 3 of my friends I have known since to 70s are playing zombies . But I am used it now .

smolinsk14d ago

The UI is the least of the franchise many problems these days. But yes the UI is also terrible.

100°

5 Amazing Side Quests In Games That You Need To Experience

While gamers usually take notice of the mainline missions, these 5 side quests deserve more widespread attention for how entertaining they are.