The first pitch came from Jacob Minkoff (Campaign Gameplay Director) and Taylor Kurosaki (Studio Narrative Director), both of whom spent time at Naughty Dog, developers of
The Last of Us and the Uncharted series. It's a pedigree that, we're told, makes them perfect for rebooting
Modern Warfare with a greater focus on story than ever before. They were bringing a new vision to the series, one that captured the best elements of past series entries while also introducing a fresh perspective never seen in a Modern Warfare game before.
Here's their pitch in brief and in as close to their own words as I can provide, without my own editorializing: Yes,
Modern Warfare is an action game, but in contrast to the superheroics of other Call of Duty titles, it will have a focus on "authentic and gritty" military action. It's also an action game that will draw from "relevant headline situations" and will include "social commentary," which "has
always been part of Modern Warfare's DNA," gesturing to past, headline-grabbing levels like
"No Russian."
What sort of social commentary? Well, war, they say, is "more complex than it was 10 years ago." It's "no longer only over there, it's global," and "it isn't black and white. It's morally gray." Enemies "rarely wear uniforms," and violence on all sides causes "terrible collateral damage." In this "tough to navigate world," "one man's freedom fighter is another's terrorist." Which is why, for the first time, players will take the role not only of Tier 1 special forces operators, but also "rebels" in an (unnamed) Middle Eastern nation who fight both occupying terrorist forces and "military-industrial" invaders.
