Xbox boss Phil Spencer is once again promising a long-term commitment to keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation amid Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Speaking with Nilay Patel on The Verge‘s Decoder podcast, Spencer claimed that Call of Duty would remain on PlayStation “for as long as players want.” There’s been uncertainty as to what would happen with the multiplatform first-person shooter franchise should the acquisition be completed. Spencer has previously pledged to keep Call of Duty for “at least several more years” past what’s required in Activision’s existing deal with PlayStation, but PlayStation boss Jim Ryan called this offer “inadequate on many levels.” Others noted that a commitment isn’t the same as a legally-binding contract.
On the Decoder podcast, though, Spencer explained that no contract would be for “forever,” hence why he keeps saying he’s open to renegotiations with PlayStation.
“It’s not about at some point I pull the rug underneath PlayStation 7’s legs and it’s ‘ah ha,’ you just didn’t write the contract long enough,” said Spencer. “There’s no contract that could be written that says forever. This idea that we would write a contract that says the word forever in it I think is a little bit silly, but to make a longer-term commitment that Sony would be comfortable with, regulators would be comfortable with, I have no issue with that at all.”
When Patel pointed out that availability can come in multiple forms, given the prevalence of cloud gaming, Spencer stressed that these would be “native” versions of Call of Duty.
“Native Call of Duty on PlayStation, not linked to them having to carry Game Pass, not streaming,” Spencer said. “If they want a streaming version of Call of Duty, we could do that as well, just like we do on our own consoles.” He’s referring to the fact that many Xbox games are simultaneously available for streaming through Xbox Game Pass’ Cloud Gaming service across console, PC and mobile, but you can also still purchase digital or physical copies of them.
Spencer mentioned what “regulators would be comfortable with” is a particularly important point, as Microsoft is currently in the midst of trying to get the Activision Blizzard acquisition approved by jurisdictions around the world. PlayStation, meanwhile, has been trying to block the deal, arguing that Microsoft owning juggernauts like Call of Duty — which have huge PlayStation audiences — would be anti-competitive. Therefore, comments like the ones Spencer made on Decoder about keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation are part of a larger attempt to assuage regulators and, ultimately, close the deal.
A Call of Duty player claims he went to an Activision studio to contest a ban he received in the recently released Modern Warfare 2.
In a since-deleted post in the r/activision subreddit, the gamer says he was “wrongfully banned” on Battle.net on October 28th and his appeal was “autodenied.” This led him to purchase a second copy of the game on Steam and make a new Battle.net account on October 29th, but this was also “wrongfully banned.” Notably, the user never cited any apparent reason for the ban.
In the end, he says these frustrations led him to travel to Activision’s Austin, Texas office to complain in person, only to be stopped by a security guard in the parking lot. He adds that the security guard told him he wouldn’t be able to speak to anyone in the studio but would relay his message. Upon doing so, the officer returned to say the team is short-staffed and “it will take a few weeks for unwarranted bans to be resolved.”
Naturally, The Gamer™ wasn’t happy. “I voiced my frustration due to the fact that I spent 140 dollars (70 + 70) and am left unable to play and the security guard told me to ‘not allow myself to get mad about a video game’ and told me that ‘I can be patient and wait,’” he says.
As mentioned, it’s unclear why this user was banned in the first place, so it could have been something legitimate like hate speech. But even if it wasn’t warranted, that obviously doesn’t justify him heading to the actual studio. Given the amount of abuse developers already take online, it’s concerning, to say the least, that an upset gamer wanted to just march right into a studio.
As The Gamer points out, concealed carry is even legal in Texas, so it’s scary to think of how a situation like this could have gone down. After all, we continue to see how violent acts — like the recent assault of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s husband — are carried out by people radicalized by GamerGate.
Therefore, it should go without saying, but please do not ever attempt to go to a studio to air your grievances, even if they are legitimate. Take the security guard’s advice and maybe chill out a little.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is here, marking the arrival of that time of year again.
It’s a new fall season with a new blockbuster campaign and multiplayer suite. Developer Infinity Ward has again reached into the well that is Modern Warfare for a sequel to the 2019 reboot of the acclaimed series.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is a brand new entry in the series and acts as a soft reboot for the ecosystem Activision has laid out since 2019. Infinity Ward and countless development partners have big plans for the future of Call of Duty, and it all starts with Modern Warfare II. This includes the upcoming free-to-play battle royale Warzone 2.0. Plus, there’s the emerging Escape From Tarkov-inspired DMZ mode on the horizon. Of course, there’s also the competitive core multiplayer built into the bones of Modern Warfare II.
Fans of the franchise have a lot of hope for what Call of Duty can deliver each year. Some clamour to see the set pieces the campaign brings to the table, while others, including myself, hope that multiplayer provides a balanced competitive space for players.
Following in the footsteps of Modern Warfare (2019), it’s to no one’s surprise that the sequel is fairly well-rounded in its current state. While the overall UI and menu system are rather messy, the campaign delivers an action-packed experience in spades. The multiplayer offering is exceptional thanks to a smart new Gunsmith progression system, top-of-its-class gunplay and pinpoint accurate audio.
The campaign of Call of Duty is often an afterthought for a large segment of players. Perhaps it’s understandable as it’s uncommon that entries offer a memorable experience. We’re very far removed from the gut-punching ending of the original Modern Warfare 2 or the memorable “The numbers, Mason. What do they mean?” from Black Ops. However, I firmly believe Modern Warfare 2‘s campaign isn’t one to be missed.
Modern Warfare 2 is a direct sequel and sees players touch base with Task Force 141. The campaign features some well-trotted territory from military shooters of the past. Following a missile strike, assassinating Iranian general Ghorbrani in Al Mazrah, Task Force 141 begins a hunt for the new leader Major Hassan Zyani and stolen U.S missiles. This leads the likes of Captain Price, Soap, Ghost, Gaz and others to Mexico as Hassan assumes a partnership with the Las Almas cartel. However, the game does not exclusively take place in Central America. We also find ourselves back in the fictional Urzikstan, the Netherlands, and the United States.
“A mission that truly stands out is a rather short visit to Amsterdam. This skip across the ocean beautifully displays the developer’s prowess in level design and lighting. The photorealistic streets were awe-inspiring to walk down.”
Throughout the bite-sized six-hour campaign, I found myself traversing through fantastic backdrops and set pieces. A mission that truly stands out is a rather short visit to Amsterdam. This skip across the ocean beautifully displays the developer’s prowess in level design and lighting. The photorealistic streets were awe-inspiring to walk down. Sights aside, Modern Warfare 2 delivers some of the most bombastic set pieces in recent memories. One mission taking place in Urzikstan tasks players with taking out a military convoy. In perfect Call of Duty splendour, players must hijack a number of occupied vehicles barrelling down a series of roads. To make matters more intense, I had to balance firing weapons out of the driver-side window and steering myself out of harm’s way. Modern Warfare 2 even successfully incorporates a very close reimagining of the original Modern Warfare‘s acclaimed ‘All Ghillied Up’ mission.
While the game does offer some really neat setpieces, some overstay their welcome. In one mission dubbed ‘Alone,’ players find themselves on the run from a rival militant faction. Without weapons, I used stealth to make my way through a small township. This is when the MWII introduces a backpack and crafting system that’s neat for the first five minutes. Unfortunately, the game goes on to use it for far too long. It even reappears in the game’s climactic moments, making for an abrupt Die Hard-esque finale.
From a thematic and narrative perspective, Modern Warfare 2 does its best to strike a deeper level of storytelling. While getting away from the archetypal “bro shooter” mould, it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. The game’s inciting incident is primarily inspired by the assassination of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani in 2020. The writers are on the brink of making a political statement with the game. For example, in one mission, two Mexican Special Force agents fight to cross a Trump wall dividing the U.S. and Mexican border. Following this, they are apprehended by American police who remark, “It’s hard to tell you boys apart from the cartel.” Though, there’s barely enough time for this moment to resonate with players before we’re instructed on the next mission. There are many opportunities for the game to say something, but much like its predecessor, it moves too rapidly to properly explore them.
“Gunsmith 2.0, in theory, can remove some of the grind. For those looking to be ready for Season 1 and the introduction of Warzone 2.0, this will come as a relief.”
Multiplayer is the real core Call of Duty community. Each year, the competitive landscape looks on as the franchise iterates once more. Modern Warfare 2‘s new multiplayer component comes with some of the most drastic changes in recent years.
The biggest change seen in the game is the integration of Gunsmith 2.0, the new progression system. Working through the ranks of Modern Warfare 2, the game offers an altered way of unlocking new guns, attachments, etc. Gunsmith 2.0, in theory, can remove some of the grind. This will be a relief for those looking to be ready for Season 1 and the introduction of Warzone 2.0, especially when max levels on weapons now range to around 20 or lower.
Gunsmith 2.0 is pretty grating and overwhelming at first. Breaking it down, each weapon has a new system called the ‘receiver.’ Levelling up a singular weapon unlocks new receivers for a weapon. In doing so, a new weapon which shares the same receiver and attachments is available. This means rather than having to unlock the same barrel for every assault rifle, players merely need to unlock the receiver across compatible weapons. In theory, this allows for less grind and more customization in both how weapons operate and their core stats. That said, we’re still in the early days of Modern Warfare II, so the long-term effects on the meta are yet to be determined.
The other substantial change is the UI. We’ve gone through three iterations of Call of Duty where the template for navigating stayed roughly the same. In Modern Warfare II, the menus and UI remind me more of Disney+ than a multiplayer game. The main menu screen mashes up the campaign, multiplayer and a small assortment of co-op missions. Options to filter specific modes from Quick Play also appears small on the screen. There’s also no shortage of ways to accidentally back out entirely when simply attempting to thumb over to the ‘Weapons’ or ‘Operators’ menu.
“It’s disappointing when the coat of paint impacts the quality of life of the player and ease of use.”
The game’s Social menu is also in a totally separate menu system. My biggest gripe, though one that should have an easy fix, plagues the 2XP system. Currently, the game will not display how long a 2XP token is in effect. Given that these are crucial for levelling ranks and weapons, you may want to set a timer on your phone like I’ve had to. I understand wanting a new coat of paint to accompany this new generation of the Call of Duty ecosystem. However, it’s disappointing when the coat of paint impacts the quality of life of the player and ease of use.
For console players, it’s worth noting that the ability to turn cross-play off is only available on PlayStation. Currently, Xbox players are unable to opt-out of playing with PC players. This is despite input selection, whether its controller or keyboard and mouse.
Modern Warfare 2 does have a lot working for itself, however. Unsurprisingly, Infinity Ward continues to prove that the studio is a leader in the FPS genre. The tight gun controls shine beautifully here. Whether you’re a run-and-gunner or a sniper, every gun I’ve used handles exceptionally well. Of course, this depends on the build and the balancing of attachments, but when you finely tune a weapon and its receiver, I’ve been able to have some great matches.
Infinity Ward has also scaled its movement in the game. No longer can players slide cancel around the map. With sliding now nerfed, the emerging new movement meta seems to be bunny hops around corners and a diving mechanic. Though, its aim-down-sights (ADS) recovery leaves much to be desired. The result of all of this makes for slower movement, leading Modern Warfare 2 to feel more like Rainbow Six Siege than recent entries in a way.
Audio is also something Modern Warfare 2 can proudly tout. The game can render sounds with pinpoint accuracy, whether it’s footsteps, gunfire, or AI callouts. This is especially true while wearing a pair of headphones, but clean audio also came through very well on my soundbar. It may be an overlooked component, but when footsteps are crucial to awareness, the improvements in audio clarity are a surefire winner for me.
As far as the game modes are concerned, Modern Warfare II delivers a fairly balanced offering. ‘Team Deathmatch,’ ‘Domination,’ ‘Free-for-all,’ ‘Search and Destroy’ are all available in their current state. The game doesn’t yet feature ‘Hardcore’ (now renamed Tier 1) until the launch of Season 1 on November 16th. Additionally, a third-person mode has been reintroduced after many, many years. While novel, it feels like a step back from the first-person perspective. It does enable a different scope in map awareness for a change of pace, though.
“Invasion mode reads as Infinity Ward’s attempt to capture the magic left behind by Battlefield. In many ways, it successfully does replicate the feeling of larger multiplayer battles.”
Rather than a Zombies game mode, Modern Warfare II introduces Invasion. This large-scale 20v20 game mode incorporates real players with AI bots. Each team fight to be the last team standing in a pseudo-Team Deathmatch. Invasion mode reads as Infinity Ward’s attempt to capture the magic left behind by Battlefield. In many ways, it successfully does replicate the feeling of larger multiplayer battles. Vehicles spawn in to use while choppers fly through, dropping off more AI opponents. It’s chaotic and fast-paced, though without the ability to spawn on your squad, I’ve more often found myself running into battle than engaging in meaningful firefights.
The map selection is also fairly strong. Modern Warfare 2 has 10 core maps and five battle maps. Notable standouts include Mercado Las Almas, which offers a healthy blend of close quarters with long-range opportunities. Crown Raceway, a nighttime race track blooming with colour, is also standout. Zarqwa Hydroelectric combines broken-down buildings with small pools of water for players to swim through to flank the enemy. But not all maps smell of roses. Santa Sena Border Crossing, a conjected highway map, is purely not fun due to its design and layout. Not even its Breaking Bad easter egg can put it in my good graces. Unfortunately, Valderas Museum, a great map in the beta, is no longer available. The map’s disappearance may be due to copyright issues with the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. If true, this is very disappointing.
Overall, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is in an excellent position. With Tier 1, Warzone 2.0, and DMZ around the corner, the foundation of gunplay, movement, and progression pave the road for an exciting year. However, Infinity Ward and its development partners should be wise to listen to community feedback in these first few months. There are quality-of-life issues to address. Though, there’s nothing currently baked into the DNA of the game that can’t be improved via updates and fixes down the road. Despite my gripes, Modern Warfare II brings the blockbuster action and tight FPS fun I’ve been craving this fall.
On September 15th, Activision held its inaugural Call of Duty Next presentation to reveal the future of its massively popular first-person shooter series.
During the showcase, we got looks at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, among other titles. That’s certainly big news for many people, and I totally don’t fault anyone for getting excited. But one thing I’ve noticed that does disappoint me is the complete lack of acknowledgment of what’s the big elephant in the room: Activision Blizzard itself. As a result, I found myself with a rather icky reaction to everything that was revealed.
Bobby Kotick (Image credit: Flickr — Dan Farber)
As you likely know, Activision Blizzard faced a slew of scandals last year. First, the state of California filed a July 2021 lawsuit against the company, alleging that it fostered a “frat boy” work culture in which many employees, especially women, faced sexual harassment, gender discrimination, unequal pay and other forms of mistreatment. One woman was even reportedly driven to suicide by the trauma she faced. In a subsequent report, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick — already known for being gaming’s most overpaid CEO — was specifically accused of knowing about these incidents and even working to cover them up. (One report suggested he actually threatened to have an assistant killed.) Naturally, Activision Blizzard claims it found no evidence that Kotick did any of this, which we all totally believe.
This was a big deal last year. A lot of consumers spoke up against Activision Blizzard, many employees came forward with their own stories and staged walkouts, and the company’s image seemingly took a well-deserved hit. That was great to see! There was a concerted effort to hold the company accountable. But as time has passed, we’ve heard less about the controversy, and now, we see little, if anything, about it. All of the chatter is about these new Call of Duty games, not the poor conditions at the company behind them.
“Even the publications that have blasted Activision before produced coverage of Call of Duty Next without a mention of the company’s work culture“
Of course, scenarios like these aren’t black-and-white. I understand that you can simultaneously be against the wrongdoings of those in power while being excited for the work that the frontline developers have been pouring blood, sweat and tears into. I understand that gaming sites both provide coverage to help inform consumers’ purchasing decisions and to help stay afloat, especially as we continue to see layoffs at prominent sites. I understand that many players (the ones who aren’t cold and uncaring, anyway) legitimately don’t even know much, if anything, about what shady sides of gaming publishers as they’re casual gamers at best. I understand that the world sucks in a lot of ways and people justifiably turn to games for escapism. That’s all reasonable!
But when I look at Twitter and see people who know full well what Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft have done but are still just blindly and uncritically hyping up everything the companies are doing? Well, that’s disappointing. Even the publications that have blasted Activision before produced coverage of Call of Duty Next without a mention of the company’s work culture (To be fair, some did still mention it, like Rock Paper Shotgun, so shoutout to those outlets). It’s not at all difficult to address in some form, especially when people have the time to tweet about the promotional swag they receive from these companies. In fact, I’ve heard more from people about Sony and Microsoft’s public battle over the latter’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard than I have about the Call of Duty maker’s own transgressions (Because we all know it’s the billion-dollar corporations who are the victims here).
Now, to be clear, I’m not condemning individual fans or media. So many people in this day and age are judgmental about others, especially in situations where you have to walk a tricky line. There’s no “easy” answer here. Personally, I’ve gone back and forth about what I should and shouldn’t cover from these companies. Ultimately, I did decide to give coverage to last year’s Call of Duty: Vanguard and Far Cry 6 and this year’s Modern Warfare II, but I did so by framing it all from the perspective of celebrating the Canadians who worked on these titles and — as best as I know — had nothing to do with the larger scandals. More importantly, I still at least addressed said controversies in my pieces. I felt this was the least I could do (And even then, I know I haven’t been as consistent in that regard as I could have been).
There are still so many question marks surrounding Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard. (Image credit: Xbox)
I even genuinely wonder if there’s some unspoken assumption that Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard will magically “fix” everything, but even if that’s what people are thinking, it’s certainly misguided. For one, the deal is still subject to significant regulatory probes, so it may not even be approved. And even if it does successfully close, major systemic change doesn’t just happen overnight. We can’t be sure of what Microsoft may do. Hell, we still don’t even have a clear answer about what will happen with Kotick post-acquisition, so it’s way too early to view Microsoft as some big saviour.
No, we have to hold companies accountable ourselves — consumers, media and the like. Because really, is it a lot to ask that we don’t just forget about these issues? Sure, no one is expecting that we individuals on the public side of things can singlehandedly “fix” these publishers. But even still, can’t we at least do something? That we take even a few sentences of a single article or tweet to point out these problems? Not every story or tweet about these games has to be a larger commentary on the companies that make them — that would be ridiculous to expect — but even a few?
“There will always be selfish and entitled gamers, but it’s definitely been reassuring to see larger public recognition of the issue”
People get the most random and trivial things trending on Twitter every day — how about doing the same once in a while for company misconduct? Alternatively, why not at least follow along or even promote the great work of advocacy groups like ABetterABK and A Better Ubisoft to stay informed? Regardless of what action you take, developers give so much of themselves to make the games we love, and the least we can do is continue to call for their employers to give them the treatment they deserve.
It’s especially a shame because we’ve seen how improvements can happen in the industry when people collectively put pressure on companies. Take crunch, a major issue in the gaming industry that relates to prolonged overtime during development. After extensive coverage of Rockstar’s crunch culture surrounding games like Red Dead Redemption 2, the company has reportedly made meaningful strides toward fostering a healthier development environment. That seemingly came about, in no small part, due to many people coming together to point out “wow, crunch is bad.” Of course, there will always be selfish and entitled gamers, but it’s definitely been reassuring to see larger public recognition of the issue, like when The Callisto Protocol director Glen Schofield was widely criticized for recent comments that glorified crunch. It sends the message that it isn’t okay, and, hopefully, helps companies follow Rockstar’s suit.
Ultimately, I just hope that people don’t completely stop talking about these sorts of issues, which sadly seems to be the case much of the time with Activision and Ubisoft. Because in the end, we’re fortunate to be able to enjoy something like Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed without worrying about the publishers behind them abusing us. Why not try to make sure those who made these games get to do this as well?
Sony and Microsoft have worked out an agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for three more years, however, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan has also reportedly labelled Microsoft’s offer to keep the title on PlayStation “inadequate on many levels,” as reported by GameIndustryBiz.
The disagreement between the two companies comes after Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind the Call of Duty franchise, in a deal valued at $68.7 billion USD (about $85.96 billion CAD). The acquisition is being criticized by regulators, with concerns regarding Microsoft withholding Activision Blizzard’s games from competitor consoles, like the PlayStation.
Last week, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer stated that Call of Duty will remain multiplatform once Activision Blizzard has been acquired. “We’ve heard that this deal might take franchises like Call of Duty away from the places where people currently play them,” wrote Spencer. “That’s why, as we’ve said before, we are committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day the game launches elsewhere. We will continue to enable people to play with each other across platforms and across devices.”
Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.
On the other hand, Ryan, in a statement given to GameIndustryBiz said that he did not want to go public and comment on private business, but since Spencer talked about it in the public forum, he feels the need to “set the record straight.” According to Ryan, “Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends. After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers.”
He added, “We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle.”
This year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is expected to come to the PlayStation, alongside any other Call of Duty franchise titles that release in the next three years. After that, Call of Duty might become an Xbox-exclusive franchise.
Xbox is once again promising that Activision Blizzard series like Call of Duty will remain multiplatform once its pending acquisition of the publishing giant is approved.
Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, reiterated Xbox’s plans in a September 1st Microsoft Blog post.
As an example of that commitment, Spencer cited how Xbox has continued to support Minecraft across all platforms ever since its 2014 acquisition of developer Mojang.
Of course, Spencer also repeated previous statements that Microsoft’s intention is to “make Activision Blizzard’s much-loved library of games – including Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty — available in Game Pass.”
Spencer’s blog comes as Microsoft and Sony have been butting heads over the former’s planned buyout of Activision Blizzard. According to Sony, Microsoft owning the Call of Duty maker would be anti-competitive, as it would drive many people away from PlayStation to get Call of Duty on Game Pass elsewhere. Microsoft, meanwhile, responded by claiming that PlayStation pays for “blocking rights” to keep games off of Game Pass and other subscription services.
As the deal continues to go through regulatory bodies worldwide, Spencer is clearly attempting to smooth over concerns regarding how Xbox will handle Activision Blizzard games.
Spencer added that Microsoft intends to continue to use its cloud game streaming technology to bring console-quality gaming experiences like Activision Blizzard’s portfolio to mobile devices. He also said this would extend to “devices that people already own,” including smart TVs and laptops.
In a separate news release, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick provided an update on the pending acquisition, saying “the process with all of the regulators is generally moving along as we expected.” As a result, he still expects the deal to be completed by June 2023, which was the window that Microsoft first mentioned back in January.
The big question that remains should the deal go through, though, is what happens with Kotick. The embattled executive has come under fire amid a lawsuit pertaining to widespread allegations of a toxic “frat boy” work culture within Activision Blizzard. Since July 2021, numerous employees and contractors have come forward to accuse the company of sexual misconduct, harassment, unequal pay and more. Kotick was specifically accused of not only knowing of these events but actively working to cover them up. There has since been calls for Kotick to resign, although he remains in his leadership role and it’s not yet clear whether he will leave should the deal be closed.
For years, Quebec City-based Beenox has been a key player in the Call of Duty series.
While American studios like Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Sledgehammer alternate between leading development on each of the first-person shooter series’ annual installments, the Canadian team helps out with almost every title. That contribution has also only grown over time; in addition to PC porting work (including for this year’s Modern Warfare II), Beenox developed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered and has also been crafting game modes for Warzone.
To get a better idea of how the Canadian studio manages all of these projects, MobileSyrup sat down with Beenox creative director Etienne Pouliot and UI/UX director Marc-Alexandre Milot, after the team’s Fan Expo Canada 2022 panel alongside Sledgehammer’s Toronto team. During our interview, Pouliot and Milot discussed what goes into making a PC port, the close — and sometimes competitive — relationship Beenox has with other Call of Duty developers and what people can do to break into Canada’s booming gaming industry.
Question: The video game industry is a little secretive sometimes, so it’s always nice to be able to put human faces to those who make games. With that in mind, what’s it like to come to events like Fan Expo, especially after three years of COVID, to see some of the fans and speak with them?
Etienne Pouliot, creative director: Yeah, I think that it’s really a privilege to see everyone, because I feel that we don’t do enough with our community. So I think that it’s the right thing to just start getting into those kinds of events and just let people ask us questions, because this is the fun part, knowing what is important for them. So I just hope that people had a great time. And I just hope that we’re going to come next year and again, and again. So that’s pretty cool.
Marc-Alexandre Milot, UI/UX director: I was at Fan Expo [three] years ago to also do an interview. It was really great to meet both the fans and also journalists talking about the game. And it’s really great to be able to do the same thing again. Like, the panel we just had, it was really amazing to meet the fans and to have them ask questions about the game. And you feel like they’re very passionate to make sure that the game will be great, and we try our best.
Q: Another thing about games is that they’re very hard to make. I think a lot of people underestimate that, especially with ports; they think it’s a ‘copy-and-paste’ type of job. Obviously, that’s not true; a lot of work goes into them. So when you’re working on something like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, what is some of the work that goes into bringing that to PC?
Milot: There’s a lot of work in porting a game. For me, I’ve been porting games since pretty much I joined Beenox in 2009. We did port the Spider-Man games on 3DS and Wii. We also did the port of Skylanders. So it’s an expertise that you build over the years. The first part is making sure you understand the technology behind it so you can know if you have issues with the online engineering. The team at Beenox has done a really good job at the PC versions, so we’ve had people that have built real expertise into different domains like weapon balancing, also the vendors — making sure that it works well with Nvidia card, the AMD card, Intel. Those are also expertise that we’ve had to develop over the years. Also, to establish the relationships with those other hardware companies, just to make sure what’s going to be the next big thing for the next year so we can be ready as a developer to support it. Those are sort of the examples that we have to do.
On the gameplay/UI side, it’s about making sure that we’re part of the bigger teams. So every time we want to do something with PC in terms of gameplay, we have to talk with Infinity Ward, also talk with Raven — Treyarch is also in the discussion. So we have a huge panel of people from different studios working together to make sure that for every decision that we make, we have a consensus of where we want to go in the future.
Q: That leads to one of my other questions. You’re course collaborating with a bunch of different teams because it’s a big endeavor to make a Call of Duty game. What’s that sort of collaboration look like, especially when you’re here in Canada and they could be in California or another place where it’s a different timezone and different country? What do that process and collaboration look like?
Pouliot: Yeah, I think that we’re happy to have Zoom [laughs]. That’s a good thing about having been through the pandemic. Because before that, we need to move to all those different studios in person to meet. And it was really a great time, but right now, each day, I have a conversation with someone from Treyarch, someone with Infinity Ward. So we’re making sure that we are on the same page on every topic. And we understand what is the goal of ‘that mechanic’ or what is the goal of ‘that map’ or anything. So the communication is just getting better and better. And after all those years with all those teams, I think that we’ve created something really like interesting. It’s not just that we’re great coworkers; friendship gets more and more important. So we see the result of that hard work. So it’s really an interesting part of having those discussions because everyone is different, but everyone has a key to unlock what will be the next greatest experience in Call of Duty. So I feel that I’m really privileged to work with all those talents through the years and I hope that would just keep continuing.
Q: On the subject of collaboration, Beenox recently opened a new studio in Montreal, so you’ve now got the two teams. What’s it like to continue to expand and have those two teams working together?
Pouliot: I think what’s really important is that the culture of Beenox is really flat-oriented leadership. So anyone from any team can come and see me throughout the year and have a discussion about the game and just mention what we should do. So I think that having those new folks with new backgrounds is just going to be a better experience for all of us. Because it’s really important to have those different ideas and topics and just making sure that we don’t lose someone behind because maybe there is an option, or there is a map that it’s not working well. So I see that as again, it’s not like we’re building Montreal studio and we don’t speak with them. It’s like, ‘no, they’re their family members.’ So we’re making sure that they are in every step of production, and the other voice inside what we’re currently doing. So that’s pretty great.
Milot: And we do encourage people to travel from Quebec City to Montreal and Montreal to Quebec City to meet the rest of the team. The fact that all of us were in ‘work from home’ for a few years, that made having people from Montreal just normal business. So they could be sitting in Quebec as well and we’ll still be able to talk over Zoom for meetings. So it’s it’s pretty natural to have them. But yeah, it’s great to be able to have an incentive to have people go to different cities to meet the rest of the team.
Q: Beenox’s involvement with Call of Duty goes to Black Ops 3 for the 360 and PS3. That was seven years and a couple of console generations ago, and technology is constantly evolving. I know you can’t talk much about Modern Warfare II, specifically, but in general, what’s it like for that technology to have rapidly changed? How has that evolved the process of porting a game? Has it made certain things easier or harder?
Pouliot: If we look at all the years back, I think that we need to always step [forward] and make sure that we’re making progress. If we’re not satisfied with the work we’ve done already, it’s always challenging for the team to say, ‘how can we make it look better, run smoother, and as a gameplay experience, what can we offer new to the player so so they get something to engage and to have fun with?’ So it’s not something that’s getting easier, and we see more and more people getting attracted by it. So I just see that as a nice challenge. And I know that we have the team and the resource to achieve those goals. So I’m just looking forward to the future console or PC or something like that.
Q: I know you can’t speak about it much, but it’s been confirmed that Beenox is working on the next Call of Duty mobile game. What’s it like working on a mobile entry in the series compared to the console and PC titles?
Had a great time moderating a panel today at #FanExpoCanada alongside my Activision colleagues 🫶
Milot: I would say it’s similar, kind of, because it’s usually [about] making sure the games run well. And mobile is a huge market — you have very different sizes of phones, you have different pieces of hardware inside the phone. So, making sure that we can support the broadest range of hardware is something that we are currently working on with the PC version — making sure that the game runs well on legacy PC has always been something that’s very important for us. So the same expertise that’s been built over the years can be translated to mobile.
Pouliot: Yeah. And just making sure that we have the right people focusing on that version so we know they have the talent and they have the experience to make the greatest experience on mobile. So I’m pretty confident about those folks. So it’s just a matter of giving them all they need to make a successful story with that game and I’m pretty sure it’s going to happen.
Q: Beenox is over 20 years old at this point and you have a long lineage of working on a bunch of different games — even for Activision, specifically, different Spider-Man games, Crash Bandicoot, etc. Are there any plans to return to titles outside of Call of Duty?
Pouliot: I don’t know the future but I’m pretty sure that everyone is excited about anything that could happen. I know that for the folks that have been working for more than 15 years now, I know that we can tackle any challenge. So it can go in any direction. And I’m pretty confident that we’re going to craft something that would be a nice memory for the player.
Q: Even on Call of Duty, though, there are multiple Call of Duty games now. You’ve got Warzone and mobile, as well as the mainline games, and Beenox is working on those and helping out. What’s it like, for Warzone in particular, to work on a live service game, especially one that started right when COVID happened and has evolved so much since? What’s it like to support a live service game like that?
Lately, Beenox has been creating new modes for Warzone.
Pouliot: It’s a huge task. But I think that, again, I feel that we’re learning through that process of live operations service. It’s all about the player and how can we delight them with new content and make sure that the game stays stable and that we improve that experience. Because if you look at the first day of Warzone when it shipped, the state it was, and the state the game is right now — I think we improved all the systems. I feel that it will never be enough. [laughs] But I’m really proud of all the work of the team and we receive so much great feedback from the community. And we know that a lot of people are sticking with us and are just waiting for the next iteration of the game. So I see that as a sign that we’re making progress and working in the right direction.
Q: When you’re introducing a new game mode, what’s the process like of brainstorming and then collaborating with the other Call of Duty teams to implement it?
Pouliot: I can give you an example. Right now, we’ve done a game mode that was called Rebirth of the Dead. We knew that zombies were really huge inside Verdansk. So it was an idea that interns and developers was always, ‘Oh, how can we bring those zombie experiences into Warzone?’ So it was just finding the right time to have the right people working on that. And it’s not just porting the same experiences; it’s like, ‘what have we learned from the community and feedback and how can we make those changes inside that new game mode?’ And after that, when it launched, we see all the success and the positive feedback. So I see that as an improvement from what we’ve done in the past. It’s not just one person that brings all that ideas — it’s really a team effort. And I see a lot of potential for the future in that direction, too.
Milot: And playtest, playtest, playtest.
Pouliot: Yeah, yeah.
Milot: Making sure that we have as many eyes as possible on the project, whether it’s people from HR or QA or engineering. Making sure that anyone can try the game and give feedback to the developers, so everyone has a voice on that. You don’t need to be a pro player to necessarily have good ideas; anyone can have good ideas. So it’s something that we are pushing forward to make sure that everyone participates in playtests, and also the other studios taking part in playtests. It’s fun to see someone from [Infinity Ward] in a match, and you know that you’re going to have a meeting with him after. [laughs]
Pouliot: [laughs] And that’s funny because we have a reputation of really hardcore players at Beenox, so they’re afraid of playing with us because they’re going to [lose]! But this is the kind of energy that you need to have to craft the best experience. And I think that everyone is important in that process, and at the end, you see the results are pretty great.
Q: So you’re saying that developers on Call of Duty in America are actually afraid of Beenox because you guys will beat them?
Pouliot: [laughs] Yeah, we have some pros that I look at playing the game and I don’t understand how fast they can go. I think they are robots or supernatural or something.
Q: We talked about how Beenox is growing, and the Canadian video game industry as a whole is massive. What would be some advice you’d give to someone looking to break in?
Beenox testers.
Pouliot: I think the first thing that is really important is that if you have a company in mind that you want to reach, learn about that company or the product they’ve been crafting and try to find a tool to express what you’ve learned through all those games. So let’s just give an example with Call of Duty: you can take any game engine maybe try to do a level of Call of Duty. You don’t need all the mechanics, but if you just craft a little something, this will give us a hint that you’re passionate about that game. And we’ll see that passion through that level. And after that, this can open a door [for you] to maybe work with us or any company. So I think that you just need to try to do a game and after that, something great might happen.
Milot: I started in modding when I was younger. There was not that much protection on games, so it was very easy to tweak the visuals or to integrate scripts in there. So that’s how I learned how to make video games. There’s now also official tools like Black Ops 3 had the mod that tells you to create your own method to try. I think that’s a great way to see if you are interested or if you like the kind of job that might be possible. And something else that people can do is that we usually have a lot of opportunities on the QA side that people can test again. And something that’s very important at Beenox is that people who are curious are also part of our team. So whenever we take off a feature, we want to make sure that we have every discipline involved in the creation process. So we have people from QA, people from system design, from UI/UX in there, to brainstorm about where they would like to bring the feature forward. So it’s a great way to see if you would be eventually interested to stay there or evolve as a designer or a producer from there.
This interview has been edited for language and clarity.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will release on October 28th. An inaugural Call of Duty ‘Next’ digital showcase will reveal more details on MWII, as well as the future of Warzone and other Call of Duty titles.
It should be noted that Activision Blizzard is facing ongoing legal action related to reported work culture issues. Specifically, the gaming giant was accused in a July 2021 lawsuit of fostering a toxic “frat boy” culture at its U.S. studios in which many employees, particularly women, dealt with harassment, gender discrimination, unequal pay and other forms of mistreatment. Bobby Kotick, the company’s CEO, has specifically come under fire for allegedly working to cover up these reports and has faced calls to resign, yet he still leads the company. Recently, Axios reported that Activision Blizzard has been hit with two setbacks related its legal battle with California over these workplace misconduct allegations. While none of these allegations directly relate to Beenox, they’re nonetheless important to mention.
Activision has confirmed that a special ‘Next’ event will be held on September 15th to provide more details on the next installments in its Call of Duty series.
The main highlight of the showcase will be the reveal of the multiplayer mode of this year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Additionally, Activision announced that the early access beta will immediately follow on September 16th and 17th on PlayStation consoles and Xbox consoles and PC starting September 24th alongside cross-play support.
Further, the Next stream will offer a look at the “next Call of Duty: Warzone,” its free-to-play battle royale game. We’ve known about a sequel to 2020’s popular Call of Duty: Warzone for some time, an official reveal has yet to be made. The previously confirmed mobile version of Warzone is also set to be featured in the stream.
All eyes are on this next wave of Call of Duty titles after Vanguard, last year’s entry in the annualized franchise, underperformed. In its most recent earnings report, Activision Blizzard had 94 million monthly active users across all of its Call of Duty titles, down 28 percent from the 127 million in June 2021.
Activision Blizzard has announced that its Call of Duty Mobile game has surpassed 650 million downloads around the world.
The free-to-play first-person shooter first launched in November 2019 and reached 500 million downloads in May 2021. Contributing to the 150 million additional downloads since was the game’s launch in China last year.
On top of that, Activision Blizzard said Call of Duty Mobile brought in “well above” $1 billion USD (about $1.3 billion CAD), making 2021 a record year for the game.
Outside of these upcoming releases, the publisher is facing a lawsuit from New York officials over its planned sale to Microsoft. The plaintiffs argue that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was “unfit” to negotiate this deal amid widespread allegations of a “frat boy” culture at the company. Kotick himself has been accused of actively trying to cover up some of these incidents, including by threatening to kill an assistant.
As it stands, the Microsoft takeover is undergoing regulatory approval in multiple countries, including the U.S. and China. Activision Blizzard shareholders have voted to approve the deal, but Wall Street has expressed skepticism that it will go through.
Raven Software and the Call of Duty development team are releasing new anti-cheat measures.
As the kernel-level Ricochet system continues to evolve, it’s now hitting Call of Duty: Vanguard. With that, the teams have announced that a new cloaking countermeasure is also rolling out.
The new cloaking “mitigation” makes it so that any player known to be cheating is unable to see opponents while in-game. Thanks to the cloaking anti-cheat measure, all honest players are invisible to the hacker. This even extends to sounds made by footsteps and notifications created by bullets. This measure aims to make it so the hacker gets frustrated and stops cheating altogether. Additionally, the leaderboard no longer displays hackers who face a ban.
A Ricochet update blog post published by the Call of Duty team confirms that cheaters will still be visible to regular players. Theoretically, this could be a somewhat humorous way for those players to grief cheaters. In a similar fashion, the Ricochet system includes a damage shield mitigation technique that prevents cheaters from dolling out damage to opponents.
The Call of Duty teams continue to monitor and bans known cheaters daily and in bulk. During the most recent wave of bans, 54,000 accounts were prohibited from playing. Though they are consistently monitoring the landscape and utilizing Ricochet, the development teams encourage players to use in-game reporting tools as well.
Last year, Ricochet hit Call of Duty: Warzone as a kernel-level driver. The anti-cheat is only active when the game is running. In theory, this decreases any risk of interruption or issues with other games and software. However, it’s not a guaranteed solution to hackers using auto-aim bots and wallhacks to gain the upper edge.
