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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Confirmed, First Logo Revealed

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 11:44 AM PDT

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

After teasing an announcement late last week, Infinity Ward has revealed the first official logo for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Modern Warfare 2 is a sequel to 2019's Modern Warfare reboot, rather than a remake of 2009's original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Besides the logo, no new details about the game were revealed.

You can check out the logo for yourself below.

A sequel to 2019's Modern Warfare was officially announced back in February, alongside Warzone 2. Infinity Ward is taking the lead on Modern Warfare 2, but 11 different studios are reportedly working on the game in some capacity. Other reports say the campaign will feature U.S. special forces fighting Colombian drug cartels.

Modern Warfare 2 will seemingly mark the end of Call of Duty's streak of annual releases. Bloomberg reported that Call of Duty's planned 2023 release has been pushed back to 2024. This lines up with other rumblings saying Call of Duty devs are eager to move away from the annual release schedule.

Despite Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Modern Warfare 2 isn't set to be an Xbox exclusive. According to a report from earlier this year, Activision Blizzard has already committed to releasing three more Call of Duty games across multiple platforms, including PlayStation. After that, however, the series could live exclusively on Xbox.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Yuji Naka Opens Up About Balan Wonderworld Troubles: 'I Think Square Enix Is No Good'

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 11:42 AM PDT

Veteran developer Yuji Naka hit out at his former publisher, Square Enix, after a court case over his removal as director of Balan Wonderworld concluded.

Naka is best known for his work on Sonic The Hedgehog, Phantasy Star, and Nights into Dreams. In a series of tweets, Naka said that "Square Enix is no good" and that neither they nor co-developer Arzest are "companies that care about games or fans."

Naka had served as the director of Balan for much of its development but was removed from the post about six months before the game was released. He resigned from Square Enix shortly after Balan was released and filed a lawsuit against the company. He also floated the idea of retiring from the games industry for good.

In his thread, Naka cited two reasons for his last-minute dismissal. First was he voiced concern about promotional work with a Youtuber, who was to perform and release sheet music for a piano arrangement of the game's music. "I thought it strange that we would only release an arrangement of the game's music, and furthermore use a ghostwriter to produce that arrangement," wrote Naka. "I got in trouble for arguing that we release the original score."

Naka also cited tensions between himself and Arzest surrounding his comments that the game was submitted in an unfinished state, with known issues left unfixed. "I believe that games should be made by working hard until the very end, until it's a good game that the team thinks their fans enjoy when they buy it," he wrote.

Balan Wonderworld was announced in 2020 and hyped as the long-awaited reunion of Naka and fellow Sonic creator Naoto Ohshima, who is currently the head of Arzest. It was a critical and commercial failure upon release in March 2021, with our review calling it a "half-baked platformer" that was little more than a "jumble of endearing but incoherent ideas" and let down by "fundamentally bad choices."

While mostly focusing his ire on Square Enix and Azrest, Naka also thanked those who provided "comments and fantastic illustrations" inspired by the game, and offered his "sincere apologies to those customers who bought the unfinished Balan Wonderworld."

IGN has reached out to Square Enix for comment and you can read our independent translation of Naka's Twitter thread below.

I filed a lawsuit against Square Enix after I was removed as director of Balan Wonderworld roughly six months before release. Now that the court case is over and the removal order is no longer in effect, I have some things that I'd like to say.
I think Square Enix is no good: they don't care about games or fans. According to court documents, I was removed as director from Balan Wonderworld for two reasons. This decision was made by the producer, publicist, sound director, the head of the company board, and the Human Resources department.
One reason is that a pianist Youtuber was going to perform songs from the game and publish the sheet music arrangement as part of the game's promotion. I thought it strange that we would only release an arrangement of the game's music, and furthermore use a ghostwriter to produce that arrangement. I got into trouble for arguing that we release the original score.
Another is that, according to court documents, my relationship with Arzest had been damaged because of comments I made about them submitting the game without fixing issues uncovered during development, as well as comments I made with the aim of improving the game itself. The producer, Mr. Fujimoto, told Mr. Oshima about these comments.
Another point: In an email to Mr. Fujimoto, Mr. Oshima wrote "I just gathered the staff and told them about postponing the demo version. I told them, 'This decision was made by Mr. Fujimoto. Let's do our best for his sake.' They clapped and cheered when I told them. This was a little unexpected and I was very moved.
"Recently, staff who've been seeming down have been revitalised. Thank you so much. We'll all do our best." However, the producer decides the schedule, not me. The producer decided on that tight schedule. Something's strange about that, right?
I don't think it's a good idea to only release arrangements of the game's music. I think there's game music that everyone knows and can hum, but I'm not sure that this is what you'd call the game's 'true' music.
I believe that games should be made by working hard until the very end, until it's a good game that the team thinks their fans enjoy when they buy it. I think it's strange to remove and totally exclude a director who's had input on the game, and to do so without discussion because there isn't time.
By forbidding retweeting, liking, etc. on social media I think Square Enix is doing their fans a disservice. There were so many comments and fantastic illustrations of Balan Wonderworld and I'm really sorry that I couldn't do anything to recognise them.
For my part, I would like to offer my sincere apologies to those customers who bought the unfinished Balan Wonderworld.
Henceforth I believe I will be able to respond to mentions and tags as an individual.
I think it's natural to request changes that will make a game better. If you can't do that, I think it's fine to at least discuss it, but even that seems impossible. I don't think this allows us to do a game justice.
Two weeks before the final deadline for Sonic the Hedgehog, we changed the spec such that if Sonic has even a single ring, he can't die. This famous mechanic came as a result of us working to improve the game up until the last minute, and I think that people are still enjoying this game around the world to this day. #SonicTheHedgehog
I think it's strange to say that developers can't work until the last minute to make their game better. I asked my lawyer to help me negotiate the ability to simply make comments on the game until the end of development but this was totally ignored, so I filed a lawsuit.
I think this matter has become so big because of the results and recognition that Balan Wonderworld gained. It is such a shame that a project that I worked on from the beginning has come to this.
Personally, I think it's a real shame that an unfinished 'Balan Wonderworld' has been sent out into the world. I wanted to release it properly, as a carefully-made action game. I don't think that Square Enix or Arzest are companies that care about games or fans.

Jack Richardson is a Freelance Writer for IGN.

Activision Blizzard Stockholders Approve Microsoft Acquisition, But Questions Remain

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 11:34 AM PDT

Activision Blizzard shareholders voted today to approve the company's pending acquisition by Microsoft, but that doesn't mean it's a done deal, with several other hurdles remaining.

Announced via press release today, over 98% of shares voted in favor of the acquisition, which is expected to close sometime in the upcoming Microsoft fiscal year, which is between July 2022 and June 2023.

The voters approved the acquisition at $95 per share - considerably higher than the share price of late, which has been slowly dropping over the last month from the low-$80 range and has been hovering between $76 and $77 per share for the last few days.

The lowering share price ahead of the deal could indicate a lack of shareholder confidence that the deal will ultimately pass. Though the vote was overwhelming, a number of other possible challenges lie between now and the ultimate conclusion of the deal.

One key hurdle is the likelihood of an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. Lina Khan, its recently-appointed head, has already shown a willingness to tackle big tech antitrust issues, including blocking an Nvidia acquisition and reopening the case against Meta. The deal will also require regulatory approvals abroad, including in China.

The Activision Blizzard acquisition comes at a time of ongoing turbulance within and around the company. The deal itself has prompted accusations of insider trading, but even more notable is the ongoing California lawsuit against the publisher accusing it of fostering a "frat boy culture" as well as subjecting female employees to unequal pay and sexual harassment.

Since the lawsuit, over 1,000 employees have called for the removal of CEO Bobby Kotick after reports that he knew about a number of the sexual harassment and assault allegations. Though it''s unclear if Kotick will remain post-acquisition, he stands to receive a $15 million "golden parachute" compensation if he departs. You can see a full timeline of events related to the lawsuit here.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Every Take-Two Game in Development

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 11:05 AM PDT

Between publishing labels 2K, Rockstar, and Private Divison, Take-Two is one of the largest and most renowned game publishers in the business; the company's stable of acclaimed franchises includes Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Borderlands, BioShock, NBA 2K, XCOM, and Civilization, among many others.

Between now and March 2024, the company plans to release over 40 games for console/PC, including 23 "immersive core" titles, which covers staples like GTA, BioShock, and 2K sports games; six Private Division games; four "mid-core" games (think WWE Battlegrounds); and nine ports or remasters.

Given Take-Two's pedigree, the prospect of 40 new games over the next two years is an exciting one. To give you a better idea of what to expect, we've compiled a list of every Take-Two game in development. This list includes games we know (or can safely assume) are in development for console and/or PC— neither rumored projects, like 2K's LEGO sports games, nor mobile games, including those from soon-to-be Take-Two-owned Zynga, are included.

The Quarry

The Quarry is Supermassive's spiritual successor to Until Dawn, the narrative-driven PS4 exclusive from 2015. A teen horror story set in the woods of Upstate New York, The Quarry features nine playable characters — any of whom can die based on player decisions, according to game director Will Byles.

Supermassive is leaning into the social experience of Until Dawn by implementing local co-op in The Quarry, with each player controlling a character of their choice. The story will run roughly 7–10 hours based on player decisions/character deaths.

Supermassive's Hollywood influences for The Quarry include Friday the 13th, The Thing, and Evil Dead, while its Hollywood cast includes David Arquette (Scream), Ariel Winter (Modern Family), Justice Smith (Detective Pikachu), and Brenda Song (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, The Social Network).

Be sure to check out our The Quarry hands-on preview for more.

Marvel's Midnight Suns

Inspired by the early '90s Marvel Comics storyline of the same name, Marvel's Midnight Suns is the next strategy game from acclaimed tactics developer Firaxis. You play as The Hunter, a customizable superhero, fighting alongside Avengers (Iron Man, Captain America), X-Men (Wolverine, Magik), and other Marvel heroes like Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Ghost Rider, and Blade.

Midnight Suns is more than "Marvel XCOM"; it's "easily as tactical as XCOM," according to creative director Jake Solomon, but faster-paced, with a new card-based system that adds a layer of customization and randomness to combat. Despite the introduction of a deckbuilding element, Midnight Suns will not include randomized loot boxes, though there will be a marketplace for cosmetic-only outfits.

Outside of combat, players can forge relationships with other heroes at a home base called the Abbey. Engaging with characters at the Abbey can unlock new costumes that enable new abilities. Characters cannot, however, be romanced.

The game was initially due out in March, though it's since been delayed to the second half of 2022.

Kerbal Space Program 2

Take-Two's Kerbal Space Program sequel adds new spacecraft, parts, buildings, and quality of life improvements such as a moveable launch tower and skippable launch countdown. KSP 2 aims to be more accessible to new players without diluting the challenge for space sim enthusiasts.

KSP 2 was initially in development at Star Theory, a studio that has since been shuttered. In 2020 development moved in-house to Private Division's Intercept Games, with many key developers moving with the sequel to the new company. The business maneuvers around the change were controversial at the time: A Bloomberg headline detailing the shake-up reads "Game Publisher Cancels Contract With Developer, Then Tries to Poach Its Entire Team."

KSP 2 was originally due out in 2020, before being delayed to Fall 2021 and again to 2022. The IP was acquired by Take-Two in 2017 following the success of the first Kerbal Space Program.

Tales from the Borderlands 2

A new Tales from the Borderlands is coming later in 2022. The new Tales will feature "all-new characters and stories set in the Borderlands universe," according to Gearbox's Randy Pitchford. The project has been "secretly" in development at Gearbox for "many years," he added.

Pitchford revealed the game in April during PAX East, though a proper announcement won't come until summer. Gearbox did, however, release the game's first teaser image, which you can see below.

The first Tales from the Borderlands, released between 2014 and 2015, is an episodic adventure game developed by Telltale. Set between Borderlands 2 and 3, it introduced characters such as Rhys and Vaughn to the Borderlands universe. With that iteration of Telltale Games no longer around, Gearbox has brought development of the next Tales in-house.

2K NFL Arcade Game

In 2020, 2K and the NFL announced "a multi-year partnership encompassing multiple future video games." The first of those games was meant to be released in 2021, though it's now been delayed to 2022 or later.

Unlike EA's Madden NFL franchise, these will be "non-simulation football games" built around "fun, approachable, and social experiences experiences" that cater to "a more casual market," according to 2K. The games will, however, feature real NFL players.

This will be 2K's first football game since the excellent ESPN NFL 2K5 in July 2004.

2K Sports Games

In addition to the new NFL games, we can expect new entries in 2K's regular sports series: NBA 2K and WWE 2K. The company also signed a multi-year deal with Tiger Woods in 2021 to be the face of PGA Tour 2K moving forward.

While new entries in each of these three series haven't been officially announced, 2K's licensing deals and past release cadences suggest new games are all but certainly in the works.

31st Union Multiplayer Game

A new "multiplayer character-action game" is in the works at 31st Union, a studio led by Sledgehammer Games co-founder Michael Condrey. The new IP will be the Silicon Valley-based developer's first release since it was formed in 2019. The studio has since opened a second office in Spain, thanks to 2K's acquisition of Elite3D, as noted by GamesIndustry.biz.

Before leaving Sledgehammer, Condrey co-directed Call of Duty: WW2. The veteran dev also helped bring Dead Space to life as a key member of EA's now-defunct Visceral Games.

BioShock 4

It's been a long wait for BioShock fans, who last visited the captivating worlds of Columbia and Rapture in 2014 with the conclusion of BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea. Following various reports and rumors, 2K officially announced it's working on a new BioShock in 2019.

The next entry in the immersive first-person shooter series is in development at Cloud Chamber, a new studio comprised of former BioShock developers (including BioShock and BioShock Infinite art director Scott Sinclair) and newcomers alike. The team is led by longtime Firaxis dev Kelley Gilmore, while BioShock veteran Hoagy de la Plante serves as creative director. (BioShock creator Ken Levine is not involved with the project.; Levine now heads another development studio within 2K, Ghost Story Games — more on what he and his team are working on below.)

At the time of the announcement, Cloud Chamber said its BioShock would be in development "for the next several years." While there have been no official updates in the three years since, we've been able to glean some minor details from various job listings: The new BioShock will be an "immersive sandbox" first-person shooter set in a "new and fantastical world," potentially built in the recently released Unreal Engine 5.

Remastered versions of all three BioShock games (plus their DLCs) were released in 2016 as BioShock: The Collection. A live-action BioShock movie is also in the works at Netflix.

Die Gute Fabrik Story-Driven Adventure Game

Danish indie studio Die Gute Fabrik signed a deal with Private Division in March to create a new, story-driven adventure game.

"It's a little while yet before we can tell you more about the project," Die Gute Fabrik CEO Hannah Nicklin said alongside the announcement, "but we're excited to build on everything we learned from Mutazione."

Mutazione is the studio's "mutant soap opera" game from 2019. The developer is also behind 2014's Sportsfriends, which our review called a "dynamic and addictingly deep local multiplayer game."

Grand Theft Auto 6

The biggest franchise in Take-Two's stable is getting another proper entry with Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar confirmed in early 2022. While Rockstar just made the confirmation this year, we first heard GTA 6 was in development back in 2020, though the project has likely been in the works, to some degree, since the release of Red Dead 2 in 2018, if not Grand Theft Auto 5 in 2013.

As part of the announcement, Rockstar said "active development" is "well underway." A release window for GTA 6 has not been announced, though multiple sources suggest Rockstar is targeting 2024-2025.

Notably, GTA 6 will be the series' first game since GTA 1 without Dan Houser; the Rockstar co-founder and longtime series writer left the studio in 2020. His brother and co-founder, Sam Houser, remains with Rockstar.

While official details from Rockstar are limited, a 2021 Take-Two patent may describe how Rockstar will improve NPC behavior in GTA 6. Fans, meanwhile, believe they've discovered the first GTA 6 screenshot housed in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition's version of San Andreas. If the screenshot is legitimate, then GTA 6 would potentially bring the series back to Vice City.

The 10-plus-year gap between GTA 5 and 6 will be the longest in series history by far, though Rockstar has had little reason to rush: Grand Theft Auto 5 has been a golden goose for the company, selling over 160 million copies and creating an all-new revenue stream with GTA Online.

Ken Levine's New Game

In 2017, 12 former Irrational Games developers, including BioShock creator Ken Levine, formed Ghost Story Games. The studio, headed by Levine, has yet to announce its debut project, though we know it's working on a story-driven, "immersive sci-fi game with RPG elements."

The story will employ Levine's "Narrative Legos" design philosophy, in which stories can be built out of hundreds of connectable narrative pieces. The design would theoretically enable Ghost Story to realize its vision of making "a flexible narrative that is broadly replayable and strongly adaptive to player choice."

While the game has yet to be revealed, Levine has given several hints over the years as to what players can expect:

  • Levine was inspired by Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis system, though he says what he and his team are doing is "much more ambitious."
  • Like BioShock before it, Ghost Story's game may be a first-person shooter
  • It's likely an Unreal Engine project
  • It probably won't have cut scenes, as Levine told Rolling Stone he has a "deep philosophical aversion" to them
  • More from a 2015 Q&A: The game is set in an all-new universe; it is "large-ish" in scope; the story will use something "like chapters," rather than a traditional three-art structure; the main character will likely be customizable, though that (and any information here) may have changed over the last seven years.

Earlier this year, eight years after Levine began work on the project, Bloomberg published a report claiming the game was in "development hell." The studio's original idea, said to be "a sci-fi shooter like BioShock set on a mysterious space station inhabited by three factions," was reportedly targeting a Fall 2017 release. However, multiple reboots and changes in direction at Levine's discretion purportedly set the project back by years.

On a potentially more optimistic note, Ghost Story is currently hiring a Campaign Director to lead the marketing rollout for its game — a sign that development may be progressing toward the finish line.

Max Payne 1 & 2 Remakes

Rockstar and Remedy are collaborating on remakes of Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. Remedy, the developer of those original games, will reprise that role for the remakes, with Rockstar financing and publishing. The remakes will be made with Remedy's in-house Northlight engine.

While the companies have yet to share much info, we can safely assume these will be proper remakes given the project's budget is "in line with a typical Remedy AAA-game production."

The remakes, which will be packaged as a single game, are still in the "concept development stage," according to Remedy.

Moon Studios Action-RPG

The next game from Moon Studios is an untitled action-RPG published by Private Division. The companies have yet to provide an update on the project since it was announced in July 2020.

While short on specifics, Moon Studios did share its ambition for the game, saying it "rises above anything we've created thus far." The studio was recently the subject of a report that characterized it as an "oppressive workplace."

The developer's debut games, 2015's Ori and the Blind Forest and the 2020 sequel Ori and the Will of the Wisps, are gorgeous action-platformers that earned review scores of 8.5 and 9 from IGN, respectively.

Unannounced Hangar 13 Project

Hangar 13, the 2K-owned studio behind Mafia 3, is also hiring for a new project, though details have not yet been revealed.

The new project comes after Take-Two canceled the studio's last game. That game, reportedly codenamed Volt, was said to be a third-person action title in the vein of Destiny. According to the report, Take-Two had $53 million invested in the project before canceling it due to the high development cost compared to the game's commercial viability.

Other Private Division Projects

In addition to the three Private Divison projects listed above, the Take-Two publishing label has announced partnerships with four additional developers: Evening Star, League of Geeks (Armello), Piccolo Studio (Arise: A Simple Story), and Yellow Brick Games.

Evening Star's project is a 3D action-platformer developed using the studio's proprietary Star Engine. Before creating Evening Star, the studio's founders worked on Sonic Mania Plus.

Melbourne-based League of Geeks is working on an "ambitious" new IP for Private Division. The studio previously released the digital board game Armello in 2015.

Little is known about Piccolo's project beyond its description as "a unique new IP." The Barcelona-based studio's debut game, Arise: A Simple Story, was released in late 2019.

Given the studio's pedigree, the most promising of these four projects is a fantasy action-RPG in the works at Yellow Brick Games. The studio was founded by four industry veterans who worked on games in the Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Watch Dogs, Rainbow Six, and Assassin's Creed series. Mike Laidlow, creative director of Dragon Age: Inquisition, serves as the new studio's CCO.

Private Division said the first of these projects will be released during Take-Two's fiscal year 2024 (April 2023–March 2024), though that grouping also includes the aforementioned story-driven adventure game from Die Gute Fabrik.

Looking for more info on upcoming games? Check out our similar features on Square Enix, Nintendo, Ubisoft, and EA.

You can also read IGN's reviews of each Take-Two game released this year — all three of which earned a review score of 8 or higher:
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