Call of Duty: WWII Wasn't Influenced By Today's Politics, Says Sledgehammer Games

Today's political climate might make a Call of Duty game centered around World War II and fighting Nazis seem like there was some political motivation involved, but Call of Duty: WWII developers Sledgehammer Games say that the game's timing is nothing more than a coincidence.

As those who are well-versed gaming development – or simply waiting for their favorite upcoming games – would understand, games like Call of Duty are in development for several years before they come to market. CoD: WWII was no exception, and though it might be releasing during a time when the phrase "Nazi" is used in the United States much more than anyone could've anticipated three years ago when Sledgehammer first began working on the history-based war game.

"No, I don't think that current climate has affected us or changed our strategy or our message," Sledgehammer co-founder Michael Condrey told GameSpot in an interview. "We set [production] in motion before that. It's still rooted in the same place, which is telling us the story of camaraderie and heroism in an important time in human history."

Adding to Condrey's statements, Sledgehammer co-founder Glen Schofield reiterated the fact that the game kicked off development 3 years ago, so attempting to tie anything in a video game to current political situation would be "wrong."

However, Condrey did speak about the importance of the historic events during the interview and talked about how important it was that the history be preserved in accessible ways. Like other war games that are based on historic events, CoD: WWII includes major battles, difficult themes, and events that are tragic, but also shouldn't be forgotten. The Holocaust is one such event that's touched on during the campaign of the upcoming Call of Duty game.

"I also think [this subject] is still as important today as when we started three years ago," Condrey said. "It's telling the story so it doesn't happen again, that is important. Telling the story because the people that went to fight for our cause are no longer telling it, that's still important."

Condrey also compared the retelling of the WWII story to that of The Spanish American War by saying that the latter isn't taught in as great of detail in schools anymore. He said that the same can't be allowed to happen when it comes to WWII, and it's partially on the shoulders of games like CoD: WWII to make sure newer generations understand the events' significance.