How James Bond Could Have Prevented Call of Duty From Ever Existing

In a caller interview, improvement seasoned and Sledgehammer Games co-founder Michael Condrey (Dead Space, Call of Duty: WWII) has elaborate however a determination connected a improvement spouse to grip the PC larboard of 2002’s 007 Nightfire could person had immense ramifications connected the existent beingness of the Call of Duty franchise arsenic we cognize it today. Condrey discussed the substance with writer Cade Onder during the accumulation of a documentary the second has produced connected the making of 2011’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Back astir the aboriginal 2000s, Condrey spent 8 years moving astatine EA connected a fig of James Bond games – arsenic a shaper connected The World Is Not Enough, Agent Under Fire, and Nightfire, and aboriginal successful a improvement manager relation connected Everything oregon Nothing and From Russia With Love.

“GoldenEye sits connected this pedestal, arsenic you know, right?” Condrey began. “Arguably 1 of the greatest, astir transcendent shooters connected console. And truthful we were moving connected the sequel to that, The World Is Not Enough, and from determination we continued to physique retired experiences.

“Eventually successful the bid bid we were moving connected a rubric called Nightfire. We were looking for a PC developer. Now this would’ve been 2001, 2002. We were buying the crippled for PC developers who could travel successful and instrumentality our console crippled – we were focussed connected consoles astatine that clip – and present a PC version. And determination were respective absorbing PC developers we talked to; 1 of them happened to beryllium Vince [Zampella] and Jason [West].”

At this time, Zampella and West were portion of Oklahoma-based developer 2015, Inc., the workplace down 2002’s highly esteemed Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, published by EA.

“They presented america 2015,” said Condrey. “They were buying for their adjacent gig; they needed funding. They pitched to bash [007 Nightfire] PC. I inactive person Vince’s card, God remainder his soul.”

However, EA yet partnered with Gearbox to grip the PC mentation of 007 Nightfire, which was received precise poorly and went connected to gain an unenviable estimation arsenic an infamously unspeakable PC port. Despite the important captious and commercialized occurrence of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, EA opted to bring the Medal of Honor franchise in-house and ended its narration with 2015, Inc. Resultingly, a fig of cardinal unit from 2015, Inc. – including Zampella and West – accepted a woody from Activision that led to the founding of Infinity Ward and the constitution of the Call of Duty series. Had 2015, Inc. been hired to instrumentality connected the 007 Nightfire larboard astatine that time, Condrey is uncertain that things would person played retired the aforesaid way.

“[2015, Inc.] wanted the game,” helium said. “They wanted the game, and we went with a antithetic PC developer. And you privation to speech astir a weird multiverse… we met with them, walked done the process, did the owed diligence; had we hired Vince and Jason and 2015 to bash James Bond PC, who knows what? That’s a weird moment.”

Condrey would spell connected to permission EA successful the aftermath of his enactment connected the archetypal Dead Space, and successful November 2009 helium founded Sledgehammer Games with his erstwhile Visceral Games workfellow Glen Schofield. Sledgehammer Games would aboriginal spouse with Infinity Ward for 2011’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

“It’s benignant of a comic communicative of conscionable each the originative decisions and concern decisions that led to them starting Call of Duty and, of course, america joining with them connected MW3,” said Condrey.