Glen Schofield, a former Call of Duty boss at Sledgehammer Games, has said he is “immensely” worried about the future of the series under Microsoft. He also stated that the quality of most Call of Duty releases since he left has fallen.
Speaking to VGC, Schofield said of Microsoft’s ownership of Call of Duty, “I worry about it immensely, I really do. Because what’s happening here is a war.”
“Unfortunately, once you’re assimilated by one of these companies, I think you take on some of their traits,” he added.
Schofield also said he imagines that Activision has eliminated the bonus program paid to Call of Duty developers based on the success of a game, and that might negatively impact the company’s ability to attract and retain top talent.
Also in the interview, Schofield said that the Call of Duty series has sunk below its previous highs, creatively at least, since he left in February 2018 after Call of Duty: WWII. “I hate doing this, but since I left Sledgehammer, none of the games have been very good. I mean, the last one [Sledgehammer’s Modern Warfare 3 in 2023] was a 50. They still sell well,” he said.
“They just aren’t as good. They aren’t the same. Treyarch’s still really good but you know … I got lucky,” he added.
Finally, Schofield said he has a theory as to why the Call of Duty series has remained an annual franchise, and it’s all about money. “First of all if they go to not every year, they lose a billion dollars every year, so that’s why Call of Duty never did that,” he said.
It was recently reported that Activision missed out on $300 million in revenue from putting Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Xbox Game Pass. The subscription service recently approached $5 billion in annual for the first time ever. The next entry in the series, Black Ops 7, launches this November and will be on Game Pass.
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