New shooter will be set in modern day Afghanistan to reboot the 10 year-old franchise
If imitation is the best form of flattery, Activision should be feeling really good right now. On the heels of its record-breaking launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Activision will face competition in the modern warfare category moving forward. Electronic Arts announced that the latest installment of its World War II shooter, Medal of Honor, will focus on modern day warfare in Afghanistan. This marks the first time in the franchise’s 10-year history that WWII won't be part of the gameplay experience.
The new first-person shooter, due out in 2010, will introduce the Tier 1 Operator: a relatively unknown entity directly under the National Command Authority who takes on missions no one else can handle. The development team has been working closely with Tier 1 Operators from the U.S. Special Operations Community since the earliest stages of development to create the most authentic modern war experience. Inspired by real events, Medal of Honor reveals the mission of today’s most elite American soldier – his will, his mindset and his uncompromising professionalism.
“When we first set out to reinvent Medal of Honor, we wanted to stay true to its roots of authenticity and respect for the soldier but bring it into today’s war. The Tier 1 Operator is the most disciplined, deliberate and prepared warrior on the battlefield. He is a living, breathing, precision instrument of war.” said Greg Goodrich, Executive Producer, Medal of Honor. “We are honored to have the rare opportunity to work closely with these men to create a game that shares their experience.”
Development for Medal of Honor has been split between two studios. EALA is creating the single-player campaign under the guidance of General Manager Sean Decker, Executive Producer Greg Goodrich and Senior Creative Director Rich Farrelly. To compliment the single-player experience, EALA has enlisted the multiplayer expertise at EA DICE to create the multiplayer experience of Medal of Honor.
“EA has always been an advocate for telling the soldiers’ story. The new Medal of Honor follows that tradition. We felt it was important to tell the story of today’s war and today’s elite soldiers via today’s most relevant medium – videogames,” said Sean Decker, vice president and General Manager of EALA. “We are so proud to bring together two powerhouse development teams to make this game a reality; EA Los Angeles and EA DICE. Medal of Honor promises to be an unforgettable entry in the modern shooter genre."
When looking at the every other year release schedule of the Modern Warfare franchise that Activision has used, next year should be open for Medal of Honor. If Activision follows its previous pattern, 2010 will see the release of another Call of Duty game set during WWII. But nothing has been confirmed, as yet.
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About the Author
John Gaudiosi
Editor-in-Chief
John Gaudiosi has been covering videogames for the past 20 years for outlets like The Washington Post, CNET, Wired Magazine and CBS.com. He has focused on the convergence of entertainment and videogames for outlets like Video Business, Home Media Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Gamerlive.TV and is also a freelance game columnist for Reuters and writes for outlets like Forbes.com, NVISION, Official PlayStation Magazine, EGM Now, Geek Monthly, PrimaGames.com, and Yahoo! Games. John also serves as the video game expert for NBC in Washington D.C. and has produced videogame documentaries for The History Channel and Starz Entertainment. John was named one of the Top 50 Game Journalists in the world by Next-Gen.biz in 2007. He is the co-author of Scholastic Books' How to Get into Videogames, Prima Publishing's Madden: Twenty Years of Videogame Football and Electronic Arts: The Official History.
