It’s no secret that video game remasters are a dime a dozen in the industry of late, offering publishers a second revenue boon and new-fangled consumers to try out older titles that may have passed them by first time around. For Activision, though, this tactic hasn’t filtered into the publisher’s strategy – at least, not yet.
According to CEO Eric Hirshberg though, the company has contemplated Call of Duty re-releases for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, stating that if demand were to meet the “opportunity cost” we could be revisiting some of the franchise’s more beloved entries. Speaking to Game Informer, here’s what Hirshberg had to say about the hot-button topic:
“If done well, I think [remasters] can be great,” Hirshberg said. “You talk about nostalgia, and people have such connection to the games they love from the last cycle. They want to see what it would look like if someone did it right for this cycle.
“We need every body we can get to make the content we’re already committed to for our new games. It’s always a matter of finding great people to do that work. I would love to play Modern Warfare 1 or the original Black Ops [or new consoles]. There’s certainly a deep well there. No announcements, but it’s something we talk about and think about a lot.”
From World at War to the original Modern Warfare, there is ample opportunities for Activision to revisit Call of Duty‘s decorated past. However, as Hirshberg alludes to, the future of the brand remains a priority at the publisher, and such fan service will be ruled out if it comprises development on new yearly installments.
Of course, with the franchise operating under a three-tier cycle – with Sledgehammer, Infinity Ward and Treyarch all alternating at handling the IP – there is perhaps more breathing room now than ever before for Activision to re-consider its stance on remasters.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the latest entry in the series, and is slated for launch on November 6.
