Former Call of Duty director says since he left 'the games aren't as good'

Glen Schofield, a former director on three Call of Duty titles, has sat down for an interview where he was very candid about where the franchise has headed since his departure from it.

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In an interview with VideoGamesChronicle, Schofield, who is named director on Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, Advanced Warfare, and World War 2, along with a credited producer on other blockbuster titles such as Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain, Dead Space, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and From Russia With Love, said since he left the franchise, none of the Call of Duty games "have been very good".

Schofield pointed to examples such as Modern Warfare 3 being the last Call of Duty to win Action Game of the Year, and that his two previous Call of Duty titles were nominated for it. Adding, now Call of Duty games aren't even nominated for the category. The former director commented on Call of Duty moving away from a yearly release, saying that if the franchise did that, Activision would lose $1 billion a year, and that's why they haven't.

Q. On the flip side, as someone who understands deeply the Call of Duty machine, and what's required to make that successful, what challenges do you foresee now that that's under a big corporation in Microsoft?

A. Yeah. Well, I mean, first of all if they go to not every year, they lose a billion dollars every year, so that's why Call of Duty never did that.

I'll give you one selfish example, I hate doing this, but since I left Sledgehammer, none of the games have been very good. I mean, the last one [Modern Warfare 3 (2023)] was a 50. They still sell well.

They just aren't as good. They aren't the same. Treyarch's still really good but you know... I got lucky. I feel like I was at the heyday of EA during my time there. I mean, it was a who's who working there. And then when I got to Activision, I made Modern Warfare 3 (2011).

As a matter of fact, Modern Warfare 3 was the last Call of Duty to win Action Game of the Year, and my other two games were nominated for it. But now, you know, you don't see them

Schofield is also concerned about the future of the Call of Duty franchise, which is now under management of Microsoft, "Unfortunately, once you're assimilated by one of these companies [Microsoft], I think you take on some of their traits. The other thing is, I don't know, but I would imagine that the Call of Duty bonus system is out, and now you have theirs [Microsoft], and people are going to go "that isn't that," said Schofield