‘Call Of Duty’ isn’t as good as it used to be, says former boss

Former Call Of Duty boss Glen Schofield says modern games such as Black Ops 6 just aren’t as good as the classics.

Glen Schofield helped create iconic gaming franchises Gex, Legacy Of Kain and Dead Space before co-founding Sledgehammer Games in 2009. He went on to serve as co-director and producer of 2011’s Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, 2014’s Advanced Warfare and 2017’s Call Of Duty: World War 2. He left the studio in 2018 and joined Krafton the following year, leading up the development of horror game The Callisto Protocol.

In a new interview with VGC, Schofield said he “worries deeply” about the future of Call Of Duty after Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft. “Unfortunately, once you’re assimilated by one of these companies, I think you take on some of their traits,” he explained, warning that other big name franchises such as Halo or Gears Of War have “just fallen by the wayside”. A new Call Of Duty game needs to be released every year or Activision will lose a billion dollars, he added.

“I hate doing this, but since I left Sledgehammer, none of the games have been very good. They still sell well [but] they aren’t the same,” he added. “As a matter of fact, Modern Warfare 3 was the last Call of Duty to win Action Game of the Year, and my other two games were nominated for it. But now, you know, you don’t see them.”

Elsewhere in the interview, he praised Vinze Zampella for the success of Call Of Duty rival Battlefield 6. “You put a director in charge that knows what they’re doing, it makes a lot of difference. Everything trickles down. And they took their time.”

Following the excitement around Battlefield 6, Activision Blizzard extended a beta test for the upcoming Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 and made Black Ops 6 free-to-play for a limited-time.

The company has also made several huge changes to Black Ops 7 after backlash from players. Skill-based matchmaking has been drastically altered for the first time in six years and unrealistic skins will be left out of the game’s ‘Carry Forward’ feature after collabs with Family Guy, Squid Game and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles divided the fanbase. Earlier this year, Battlefield released a star-studded trailer that poked fun at Call Of Duty’s controversial celebrity skins.

In other news, the World Soundtrack Awards 2025 took place last night (October 16) and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home the Game Music Award – check out all the winners here.