Three COD games coming in two years

Activision is planning to bring three new Call of Duty titles to market between now and April 2012.

That's according to Activision blogger Dam Amrich, writing on the Facebook page for the group Gamers Against Bobby Kotick and Activision. Although Amrich is on the Acti payroll, he said he doesn't agree with everything the company does - stating, "I wish that the GH avalanche that hit us last year did not exist", "I think the $15 price point for MW2 DLC was a mistake" and "While I respect him as a businessman, I wish Bobby Kotick would not shoot from the hip so often.

"As for COD, they've confirmed three games in the next two years," Amrich wrote. "Seeing as how there is a pattern of one new COD game every year, this is one new COD game from one new developer, and in a different genre from the core games we've seen."

There has been a question mark over the COD series since Infinity Ward's Jason West and Vincent Zampella left the studio, and a flurry of lawsuits ensued. More staff have since done a runner - which Amrich reckons may not be the best idea.

"I [am] saying, 'Stick around and get what you're owed, and maybe more,'" he wrote. "Vince and Jason had very large bonuses; those bonuses are being redistributed to everybody else, to the people who did not allegedly attempt to steal company secrets.

"Activision is not pocketing that bonus money; it's still going to the people who work at IW. But you have to work at IW to get it, see? :) I don't want to see talented people screwed out of a paycheck any more than you do."

In the Facebook thread, Amrich also attempted to "bust a myth" regarding the level of control Activision exercises over developers. "The way it works at Activision is pretty simple and decentralised. Activision foots the bill; the developers follow their muse... They have creative freedom.

"It is very much like ordering at a restaurant: The chef gives you a menu and says, 'These are the dishes I want to make you.' And you say 'Great, I'd like that one, but I have questions. How big are the portions? Are those ingredients in season? And can I have it without onions?' And the chef can answer those questions, but he makes the meal... He gets creative fulfillment AND paid. It happens every day and the game world is no exception; it's just higher stakes than, um, steaks."

Amrich concluded: "So... What exactly is the downside of having creative freedom, career opportunity, AND financial reward for a job well done? Nobody's given me a good answer to that one yet."