An explanation of a scrapped third-person Call of Duty game that was compared to Uncharted has been provided by a former Sledgehammer Software developer. Over the years, the Call of Duty series has undergone many incarnations, moving from World War II to modern warfare to the Vietnam/Cold War to the distant future and all the way back to WWII and current warfare once again. It has, however, mainly adhered to the same formula by adhering to a fairly well-defined and familiar first-person format. A pitching game featuring Roman battles including spears and other weapons has been tried, but it has never progressed beyond the concept stage.
A third-person Call of Duty game set in Vietnam that was canceled and was supposed to be Sledgehammer Games’ entry into the franchise is one of the more intriguing titles that were never released. Due to issues at Infinity Ward, the project was abandoned to assist with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Former Sledgehammer Games creative director Bret Robbins discussed the unnamed game on the MinnMax podcast, comparing it to “Uncharted meets Call of Duty” in the hopes that it may still be produced someday. In addition, he discussed how the game was intended to be grim and nasty, using the studio’s Dead Space Heritage to nail down a tone that was significantly different from past Call of Duty titles.
It appears doubtful that any future Call of Duty games will significantly break the formula. Activision’s golden goose, the franchise enjoys significant commercial success, therefore they probably do not want to take the chance of alienating fans by making significant changes. It remains to be seen whether or not a game in that style will ever be produced, but it seems like a really intriguing concept and one that would make for a fun game even outside of the Call of Duty series.
