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WithCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3finally released, many reviewers claimed that the campaign felt unoriginal and half-baked. Well, there may be a reason for this. Reports suggest that initially, during its development cycle, Sledgehammer wanted to craft a game set in theAdvanced Warfareuniverse. Instead, it was forced to develop a sequel toModern Warfare 2.
Earlier, a report from Bloomberg entailed the mishaps in development cycles where Sledgehammer’s employees were rushed into developingModern Warfare 3. In fact, quite a few members of the team assumed the game was an expansion toModern Warfare 2and not a complete game in itself.
Instead of Modern Warfare 3, We Could Be Playing Advanced Warfare 2 Right Now
It may be common sense to think thatModern Warfare 3was a properly planned, complete sequel toModern Warfare 2, but that simply isn’ttrue. Sledgehammer employees admitted that they were previously told that the new game would be more of a DLC than a premium title. In an interview, Aaron Hold (head of Sledgehammer Games) also claimed how few people in the team were simply convinced thatModern Warfare 3was going to be an expansion and nothing else.
Because of the mismatch in expectations and deadly crunch times,Modern Warfare 3went through a development time of just 16 months to produce a triple-A title with a short and unsatisfying campaign. This begs the question: would things be different if Sledgehammer worked on its passion project instead? A possible sequel toAdvanced Warfarewould be highly anticipated.
Originally, Sledgehammer Games Pitched a New Game Set in the Advanced Warfare Universe
When things were just getting started, Sledgehammer pitched a project titled “Anvil,” right afterCall of Duty: Vanguardwas released. This new game was set in the same universe asCall of Duty: Advanced Warfareand would possibly be a sequel. However, none of this saw the light of day, as the team was forced to work on a newModern Warfareinstead.
To a lot of gamers,Advanced Warfarewas the first game that shiftedCall of Duty’sfocus from realism to something ambitious in the context of futuristic gameplay. It was the first entry completely developed by Sledgehammer Games and stood the test of time when players adored games likeTitanfall. At this time, however, many other gamers were showing more interest in realistic adventures, as proved by the success ofBattlefield 1,which came out around the same timeline.
Advanced Warfarecombined the realistic emotions of warfare with a highly ambitious setting that had players using tech and gear that wasn’t common in earlierCall of Dutygames. The game takes place in 2054, where the protagonist, Jack Mitchell (played by Troy Baker), finds himself in a physically challenging position after a fatal injury. He now has a robo-arm and learns new ways to fight on the battlefield.
The game also featured the popular actor Kevin Spacey, who played Jonathan Irons. The character invites Jack to be a part of Atlas Corporation, which is supposedly the future of warfare as they know it.
As expected, things go awry, and it turns out there’s more than meets the eye. There are questions around moral ambiguity and more that follow. All in all,Advanced Warfare’scampaign direction was quite ahead of its time and sent players down a roller coaster of different emotions, riddled with highly intense cutscenes and gunfights. We’re not sure if we’ll ever see a sequel toAdvanced Warfare.
But, given how poorlyModern Warfare 3is doing at the moment, it’s safe to assume that Sledgehammer Games might have made a great game set in a futuristic universe once again if it was in charge.
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Tanay Sharma
Articles Published :636
Tanay is a gaming writer who wears more hats than Red Dead Redemption 2 characters. He’s a musician, writer, voice-over artist and adores interactive media. He covers everything from game reviews to interviews with developers. His favorite games are the ones with memorable stories and characters. He’s also pursuing a master’s degree in Behavioral Sciences. No, he won’t read your mind.
