Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Was Made in 1.5 Years; Sledgehammer Wanted to Make Advanced Warfare 2 Instead

wccftech.com:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is out today on all platforms, and you can check the launch patch notes here. However, the game's early reception, specifically for the campaign portion that has been out since last week, has been especially bad.

According to a new report published on Bloomberg, developer Sledgehammer Games was forced to make the game in half the time usually allotted to a new Call of Duty installment. Activision has enforced three-year cycles among its three main studios (Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer), but Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was reportedly made in less than a year and a half.

As you may recall from earlier reports, there was talk of this year's game being a Modern Warfare II DLC. This is backed again by the new report, with Bloomberg adding that it was meant to be a smaller spin-off-like experience (codenamed Jupiter) set in Mexico. However, in the Summer of 2022, Activision executives told Sledgehammer Games they would be making a full-fledged direct sequel to last year's game with a story once again centered on Vladimir Makarov as the main antagonist.

The development staff was essentially forced to work nights and weekends to finish Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III on time. Adding to that stress is the fact that Sledgehammer was promised there wouldn't be a repeat of 2021's Call of Duty: Vanguard, which was also crafted on a reduced development timeframe (and didn't do very well critically or commercially compared to the franchise average).

Moreover, following Vanguard, Sledgehammer had originally pitched Advanced Warfare 2 to Activision. The project, codenamed Anvil, was reportedly ambitious with a full campaign, multiplayer, and Zombies mode. However, it had to be set aside