Some have been questioning the point in keeping Infinity Ward in the loop at this stage, as the studio is losing its ability to put out quality titles that add to the franchise’s popularity, and they have been doing more to actually hurt their success instead. It’s no wonder, since a large portion of the studio left a while ago.
And yet, there is a hidden benefit to keeping Infinity Ward around – this gives another year to Treyarch and Sledgehammer to properly polish their respective titles, which is not a small benefit by itself. Having three years instead of two is definitely a huge boost to a game’s production quality and level of polish, and this should reflect positively on the franchise in the future.
That is, as long as the 2016 release isn’t something that turns people away from the franchise. That’s certainly a possibility if Activision aren’t careful, because people will immediately approach that game with a critical perspective and any flaws in its gameplay will be made even worse by the constant talks in the press.
But until then, let’s focus on “Advanced Warfare” and “Black Ops 3”, solid entries in the franchise which are working very well to strengthen people’s opinions of it and restore it back to its original glory. There is still a lot of life left in that formula and Activision have some very capable studios under their supervision making sure that this potential will be utilized fully.