Modern Warfare prequel rumoured

Infinity Ward's first game since the headline grabbing sackings of early 2010 will be a prequel to the first Modern Warfare, according to insider chit-chat.

ThisisXbox's source claims that the game will be set immediately before the events of Infinity Ward's 2007 shooter. It will delve into the backstory of the Ghost character and explain how he was recruited into Task Force 141.

Apparently, narrative cues will be cribbed from David Lapham's comic book series and you'll be revisiting locations from the other two Modern Warfare titles, albeit from a different perspective.

The source, who apparently has a track record of being spot-on with these sorts of things, also revealed that the shooter will use the Modern Warfare 2 engine, rather than sporting new tech.

There's no word on when it'll see the light of day though. However, seeing as speculation points towards Sledgehammer Games' possibly intergalactic series debut being your 2011 fix, a 2012 release might be a safe bet.

But with Singularity developer Raven also rumoured to be working on Activision's FPS juggernaut, who can say?

Infinity Ward's last effort, Modern Warfare 2, stormed the high street in 2009, winning a 9/10 rave from Eurogamer. Then it all royally kicked off early last year when owner Activision gave studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West the old heave-ho for reasons that remain not entirely clear.

The various, increasingly expensive, lawsuits surrounding that snafu are ongoing.