While the only footage we’ve seen of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has been the reveal trailer so far, Infinity Ward did do a behind closed doors preview for the game at a reveal event, and at this year’s E3. News quickly spread that the single-player campaign was going to be much, much darker compared to past Call of Duty campaigns, and it seems Activision might have a hand in that.

Speaking in an interview, former Sledgehammer Games (Advanced Warfare, COD: WWII) co-founder Michael Condrey implied that the more controversial and darker tone is Activision’s doing, and Infinity Ward is being pushed in that direction.

GamesBeat: Activision didn’t show Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on the show floor this year. That’s a departure from the past. I wrote about how I saw it behind closed doors in a preview and I found it to be pretty disturbing. I also saw other journalists with similar takes after they saw it behind closed doors at E3. What is your interpretation of that?

Condrey: I maintain that video games are the most important art form of our time. I respect every developer who strives to deliver their work as an extension or reflection of their artistic vision. That said, MW seems like a tough challenge for any studio, especially if they are being pushed by publishing to be more controversial and “darker” for the sake of headlines.

Regardless if you’re a Call of Duty fan or not, chances are you’ve heard of the “No Russian” chapter in Modern Warfare 2. Judging from what people are saying so far about Modern Warfare, this year’s Call of Duty is taking that up a notch; the question is: will gamers embrace it or see it as a shock maneuver to generate more headlines.

Those looking forward to actual gameplay, the wait won’t be too long now. Infinity Ward has said that we’re “almost there” in terms of Modern Warfare gameplay.

Source: GamesBeat