Sledgehammer’s Original Call Of Duty Plans Were Much Different Than The WW2 Title We Got

So far, both long-time Call of Duty fans and newcomers to the franchise are both loving the historical settings of the latest WW2 title. Many were excited to see the series go “back to its roots” and encompass what many fell in love with about the franchise to begin with. With the previous several titles, the narrative kept taking leaps and bounds into more futuristic settings, which didn’t set well with many of the players. A popular concern was that it became “too gimicky” or simply unenjoyable. Understanding that, it’s a little bit surprising to learn that the well-received WW2 take was not actually Sledgehammer’s first go to. In fact, they were originally aiming to make an Advanced Warfare 2.

A new interview:

In a recent interview, the CEO of Activision, Eric Hirshberg, sat down with Newsweek to talk about the steps that lead up to the WW2 title’s release and what almost came to be instead. Thankfully, Activision was listening avidly when there was an overwhelming demand for a WWII setting, and they decided to shift gears away from the exosuits for a little bit to give players wan they want. 

“Sledgehammer wanted to make Advanced Warfare 2. 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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Thankfully, Activision stepped in to provide a redirection for the Sledgehammer game and the franchise was much better for it. The reviews have been pouring in and for the first time in a very long time, many are content with a Call of Duty installment. When the franchise was first introduced, it was hailed as a fantastic FPS experience. As the series continued to try new things, it began to fall out of grace with a long of its long-time players as it evolved from a ‘Call of Duty‘ to a ‘Generic FPS’. 

Call of Duty: WWII is out now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. To read our thoughts on the latest shooter, check out our full review here.