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Call of Duty moves to a three-studio rotation to keep up the quality

Many gamers are frustrated with publishers that like to release franchise sequels every one to two years, regardless of the quality -- just ask the Battlefield 4 players still grappling with bugs. Activision is clearly aware of the problem, however. It just announced that Modern Warfare 3 creator Sledgehammer Games will become the third studio regularly producing Call of Duty titles, joining Infinity Ward and Treyarch. The new rotation gives each developer three years to finish a COD game instead of two; they'll have "more time to polish" without interrupting the yearly release cycle, according to publishing chief Eric Hirshberg. The addition won't please those who'd rather see more original games, but it's good news for fans worried that Activision might cut corners to ship its first-person shooters on time.