Call of Duty: WWII Was Supposed to Be Advanced Warfare 2

Activision has revealed that Sledgehammer Games originally intended to develop a sequel to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare instead of Call of Duty: WWII. 

“Sledgehammer wanted to make Advanced Warfare 2“, said Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg during an interview with Newsweek. While they seemed rather committed to that plan, some within Activision recognized that there was a rather large portion of the franchise’s fanbase that deeply wished the publisher would push the game back towards its World War II roots. 

Once they realized that they’d like to go that direction, Hirshberg stated that those at Activision had little doubt that Sledgehammer could handle the change of plans.

“We knew they would become historians, that they would tackle it with authenticity, give it tremendous care and we also knew they would capture the unspeakable scale of World War II.”

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Of course, the team at Sledgehammer couldn’t do it alone. When it came to actually delivering an authentic WWII experience, Activision wanted to ensure that the developers had all the resources they would need. They even brought in an actual WWII historian named Martin K.A. Morgan who took the developers to key locations of World War II in the hopes that they would later be able to accurately render them and understand their full significance. 

Activision also contacted WWII veterans and had them talk to the team. 

“We think it’s daunting to show our games to our fans, and here we were showing it to people who actually stormed the beaches of Normandy, who actually fought through the Hürtgen Forest and we’re showing them those levels from the game,” said Hirshberg. “It was an incredibly gratifying experience. After the lights came up, these gentlemen looked at us and said ‘yup, you got it right!’ It was one of those human moments where something you’re making for entertainment purposes intersects with real life in a pretty impactful way.”  

As for whether or not Sledgehammer will ever expand the Infinite Warfare line as they originally intended to do, that’s a matter that remains up for debate. However, considering that Call of Duty: WWII is selling quite well, you probably shouldn’t expect any sci-fi adventures in the near future.