infinityward
Latest
Infinity Ward on Call of Duty 4 and shaky relations with Sony
Next Generation got ahold of Infinity Ward president Grant Collier to talk about their upcoming release, Call of Duty 4. Some topics of discussion include an emphasis on fully fleshing out the multiplayer experience, the change of scenery from WWII to modern times, and the reworking of the flow of the game. But loyal CoD fans need not worry that the changes to the franchise have left the hardcore behind. Collier reassures that "for us it's all about opening doors and we're not taking anything away, we're just adding".However, the Infinity Ward president does admit that opening doors to the Sony's inner workings has been a bit tougher. While Collier can claim a close relationship with the people at Microsoft, he cannot say the same about Sony. "I would really like to have that level of relationship with Sony. We're really pushing for that and it's a personal goal of mine to get there but I think there's very few companies that have that level of relationship with Sony. After we come out with CoD4 I hope that we'll be one of them"Finally, when asked whether he was worried about competition from other first-person shooters, Collier welcomes the challenge. He also notes that because of the November 5th release date, "on PS3 we're number one"
Call of Duty 4 devs 'going after' Halo 3
Unlike bristly television producer Lou Grant, we like spunk. So you can imagine how our cockles were warmed seeing Call of Duty 4 developer Infinity Ward's president Grant Collier give the following quote to Next-Gen. "We love competition," he said. "I think for the 360 it's pretty much Halo 3 that's the competition so we're going after who we think are at the top of the game right now and we want to take those guys on. On PC I guess I'm hearing a lot about Crysis right now. Those guys kind of came right out from nowhere. There's lots of buzz around that game. On PS3 we're number one."Pretty bold words, especially considering that Bungie never farmed out an inferior sequel and Unreal Tournament 3 ... you know, exists. That said, CoD 4 performed very well at this year's E3. We like Collier's spunk, we're just not sure his game can cash all the checks his mouth is writing.%Gallery-3922%
CoD 4 beta problems being fixed, UK gets beta access
Some new Call of Duty 4 beta news hit the newswire the other day with Infinity Ward reiterating that they are releasing 10,000 tokens a day to those who signed up on the site and that everything is moving along swimmingly. Infinity Ward also wanted to tell beta participants that the "Downloading Game Settings" glitch that some people have been experiencing has, for the most part, been fixed. Which is good, because heading back to the dashboard six times in a row just to start playing some CoD 4 kind of puts a damper on the fun. And finally it was announced that European countries will be getting their chance at the beta rather soon via CharlieOscarDelta.com or through various retail promotions. For example, UK store GAME is offering access into the beta if you pre-order the game at their stores.That's all we have for CoD 4 beta updates, so now it's time to head back into the action. See you online.[Thanks, Tangled Spider]Read - CharlieOscarDelta UpdateRead - Downloading Game Settings fixed
Oh Charlie, CoD 4 box art revealed
If you remember a while back, Infinity Ward wanted to include the Call of Duty community in on the process of choosing a the box art for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, giving fans five different art samples and asking for their opinion. And last night, after gathering all the feedback and tweaking the designs, Infinity Ward ended up with the final design you see to the right. The winning design is based off of the "Charlie" concept (which was the best) blended with a touch of "Echo" for good measure. It's pretty isn't it?A higher res picture of the final artwork can be found right here, so go analyze it, take it all in and pour over every colorful pixel, because from now on this community chosen CoD 4 box art will be referred to as the "Charlie hawtness". Go Charlie hawtness, go![Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
CoD 4 beta opens up to all who signed up
If you signed up for the second wave of entry into the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta then boy oh boy do we have got great news for you.As planned, Infinity Ward closed down the extended entry into the CoD 4 beta last night and prepared to send out entry tokens to a select random few. But soon after the sign up closed down we were informed of their new beta plans. Over on Fourzerotwo's blog he announced that, in an effort to apologize to the community for the last few days of craziness, Infinity Ward will be awarding CoD 4 multiplayer beta tokens to EVERY person who signed up. That's right, if you signed up for entry into the beta you are guaranteed a beta download token. Heck, your token could be sitting in your inbox right now. Fourzerotwo says that they'll be sending out beta tokens throughout the next few days, staggering the emails out a little bit so they can slowly ramp up the amount of beta participants. So, if you signed up and still haven't received your beta token, just be patient. You'll get it soon'ish. Oh, and Infinity Ward, we just want to say that you guys rock!
CoD 4 beta sign-up continues through tonight
We just wanted to remind everyone that the Call of Duty 4 beta sign-up will be closing in the next few hours when they'll quit taking entries and award the tokens to a lucky few.If you haven't heard, Infinity Ward was equally enraged at how yesterday's beta tokens were given out with all the server problems and extended sign-up through today. Infinity Ward promises that everyone who signs up before 7:00PM pacific (10:00PM eastern) will have an equal shot at the 87,000 beta tokens they have to give out. The lucky few who get selected will be notified via email within the next 72 hours, so keep your spam filters off and wait patiently. 10:00PM eastern is the beta sign-up cutoff fanboys ... so get to it already!
Call of Duty 4 beta overhauled, sign-ups still available
You may remember yesterday when the whole entire internet was supposed to log on to one site at the exact same time to register for their first-come, first-served beta token Call of Duty 4. Surprising absolutely no one, the traffic brought the servers to their knees. Now, beta sign-ups have been extended until 7 p.m. PDT today at which point tokens will be distributed through a lotto. That's bad news if you stayed home from work yesterday to heed the call, but good news if you missed out, because you can still register right now.Boy, we haven't seen this much confusion and drama surrounding a massive public beta since ... well, since the last time there was a massive public beta.
COD4 beta: no more first come, first serve
The Community manager for Infinity Ward, known by the masses as fourzerotwo, has posted an update on his blog concerning the complete hysteria surrounding the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta. It seems that Infinity Ward was promised by the company that maintains their web servers that the site would not crash again as it has so often has during the beta sign up process. Obviously, the repeated crashes deprived many gamers of their chance to get in on the beta, so Infinity Ward is doing something about it.So, here's the upshot of all this: Infinity Ward is doing away with first come, first serve registration. As soon as the beta site goes live again, they will be implementing open registration for 24 hours. The exact method in which this will be done hasn't been specified yet, but fourzerotwo assures us that everyone will have an equal chance to register for the beta when all is said and done. Keep an eye on fourzerotwo's blog for updates.[Thanks, Josh]
30 minutes until Call of Duty 4 beta opens [update 1]
That's right, you've known about it for a while and now you have a thirty minute wait until Infinity Ward opens up the flood gates on registration into the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer beta to United States Xbox Live members. Today, at 12:00PM pacific (3:00PM eastern) simply head on over to the official CoD 4 website, answer three trivia questions correctly, sign up for the multiplayer beta and get your redemption code. But be warned, Infinity Ward has made it clear that the codes will be given out on a first come first serve basis, so you can almost expect their hosting servers to start on fire and people to get really, really angry. But not you, because you're in the know and already have the beta page open and are ready to sign up in a split second. Remember, today's beta sign up is for US residents only with other countries making it into the beta later on ... but not today. Good luck everyone, make us proud and get those CoD 4 multiplayer beta codes!Update 1: Sorry everyone ... all those CoD 4 beta tokens are already gone. Stupid servers crashed and we never got to register, but we just received image confirmation that the fun is over. We call shenanigans!
Call of Duty 4 drops November 5
Activision has announced that Call of Duty 4, the highly anticipated FPS from Infinity Ward, will be hitting retails shelves this November. To be specific, the game will be landing on the 5th of November. Forsaking the franchise's World War II past, COD4 brings the series into modern times, hence the subtitle, Modern Warfare. If, by chance, you can't stand the thought of waiting until November to get in on the modernized fragfest, you might consider signing up for the multiplayer beta lottery that's going on right now.In the meantime, um, just be sure that you "remember, remember the 5th of November."(Sorry.)[Via Joystiq]
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare deploys worldwide Nov. 5
Activision has officially announced that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will be launching a worldwide attack aimed at wallets and societal productivity on November 5th. Waving goodbye to the digital dregs of World War II, developer Infinity Ward has moved its first-person shooting into more topical climes. Yes, topical. You'll be wanting that guy in the special suit if you fancy tropical environments.No, not that guy in the special suit. The other guy, you know? Actually, that's a woman. The other other guy then. No! There's no crowbars or time traveling. It's not him either! For god's sake, we meant Crysis! How many first-person shooters featuring characters in cybersuits could there possibly be this holiday?(Note: Call of Duty 4 does not feature cybersuits of any kind. Probably.)%Gallery-3922%
Email your way into the CoD 4 beta
Last night, Infinity Ward fired up its Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Beta lottery machine for the first time, giving out a few entry tokens to fans and making dreams come true. But this first wave of entry into the beta isn't over just yet and you can still get into the lottery via email. Head over to the official Infinity Ward forums and read community manager fourzerotwo's instructions to learn exactly how to enter the beta lottery. In general, you have to fill out the information and trivia questions on the form supplied and shoot it via email over to firstwavelotto[splat]beta.infinityward.com (no subject necessary). If filled out correctly you'll be entered into the wave one beta entry lottery which just might get you into the fun. But you'll have to hurry, because they are only accepting email entries for 24 hours which expires sometime this evening. Also, Infinity Ward wants everyone to know that this lottery is the first of many ways to get into the beta, so don't feel left out if you aren't selected because there will be many more chances. Good luck, send out your emails and stay safe soldier.
Call of Duty 4 beta registration starts today
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is about to start its public beta test on Xbox Live, an engagement that has Xbox 360 owners volunteering their gamertags and repeatedly running into a hail of online bullets for the sake of research. According to an Infinity Ward posting on the official forum (registration required), information on the sign-up process will be posted on the Charlie Oscar Delta site today at 5PM PST. The message notes that the program will roll out in several waves -- the first to be drafted could be playing the World War Now shooter as early as tonight. Read our impressions of the game's multiplayer aspects if you're not convinced this CoD is worth reeling in.[Via X3F]%Gallery-3922%
Register for the COD4 beta today, play tonight
We said Call of Duty 4 beta details would be coming soon, but we didn't realize it would be this soon. In a late night forum post by Jason West, Studio Head of Infinity Ward, it was announced that early sign up for the beta will begin today at 5PM PT. For those of you keeping score, that's about six hours from now. Furthermore, the post announces that those who make it into the early sign up could be playing as early as tonight. You know, tonight, as in this evening. Finally, the post announces that the beta will be rolled out in waves, with more people being added over time. So, if you don't make it in today, hold tight, as more players will be added every day.Keep your eye on CharlieOscarDelta.com for details.[Thanks to mark.j.smith and SadistiK Roth for pointing this out]
CoD 4 beta countdown begins this week
Up on the official Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare website, developer Infinity Ward has posted an update regarding registration into the super-duper highly anticipated multiplayer beta. The update states that there will be a countdown clock going up later in the week counting down to the first wave of registration into the beta and the good news is that they promise the counter will a short one. Reading between the lines a bit, we're betting that by this Saturday there will be some sort of registration opening or an official date confirmation at the very least. We'll keep our eyes peeled for more CoD 4: MP Beta details if you keep yours open too. And don't forget to stick to the facts kids, stick to the facts.[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in] Update: Ran ugly text gap through beautification machine.
COD4 beta listing clarified, coming "soon"
A listing on the Xbox Live Marketplace ticker for the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta set the internetz on fire earlier today. The listing, you see, has the date "8/17" tattooed onto it very clearly. The folks at 2old2play caught up with a representative from Activision to get the whole mess cleared up. The rep stated that while there is no official release date at this time, the beta will be happening "soon" and that we should expect "more information shortly."We'd like to point out that the content on the ticker generally seems to correspond with the day it actually hits Marketplace, so we're wondering just how "soon" the beta really is. After all, we know it's being played right now. All we're really waiting for at this point is for Activision and Infinity Ward to start handing out beta codes to participants. For those of you eagerly waiting for more, you'd best keep your browser pointed at CharlieOscarDelta.com.[Thanks, Derrick Schommer]
Xbox.com lists COD4 beta for today, already being played
[Update: Activision has now given an official response about the COD4 beta release date. Click here for more details.]If you've been hankering for you shot at the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta, your wait may be at an end. First of all, the beta has been spotted on the official Xbox Live Maretplace ticker. What's more, the listing declares that the beta is due to come out today. If you prefer a little more proof than an Xbox.com listing (and we wouldn't blame you if you do), Robert Bowling (GT: fourzerotwo), a community manager for Infinity Ward, was playing the beta at the time of this posting. We haven't received any sort of notification from CharlieOscarDelta.com, so we're assuming the beta hasn't started just yet. Still, if Infinity Ward is on Live testing the beta, it can't be too long, can it? Check out a screen cap of Bowling's gamercard after the break.
Call of Duty 4 on the PS3 runs at 60FPS with full AA
On the official Call of Duty 4 message boards, one of the developers behind the sexy looking FPS has recently shot-down the rumor that COD4 on the PS3 would run at a sad Madden-like 30FPS with little to no anti-aliasing, versus the 360 version which has already been confirmed to run at 60FPS with AA.According to the dev, "Same level of AA between 360/PS3, both @ 60fps. Hate on the PS3 all you want guys, but we've done did it up right for the Sony lovers. Nothing has been 360 footage yet touted as PS3, you crack-heads! I'm not sure whats up with what you guys might have seen at E3, but we do have AA on the PS3."It's awesome to see Infinity Ward pulling out all the stops and not picking the lazy way out like EA did with their sports games. Plus, they mention that the PS3 will be getting some special COD4 flavored love and that we'll hear about it soon. Hopefully it's something more than lame Sixaxis support, but at this point PS3 fans would be happy just to get a freaking demo or something ...[Via N4G]
Joystiq hands-on: Call of Duty 4 multiplayer
We've already had a first look at Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and we've seen the multiplayer video that was pre-alpha, but this was the first chance for us to snatch up the controller and get our hands dirty in the actual game. Sure, it's a beta build, but the first thing we can say is yes ... it does look that good.The second thing we can say is yes ... it does look that good, and then some. Activision had an event at a trendy bar / club in Los Angeles yesterday, and we were among one of the first groups to get our game on outside of Infinity Ward. Despite some major router issues on their end that delayed things by a couple of hours, the game still managed to blow us away thoroughly.%Gallery-3922%
Official COD 4 beta details are here
We've already talked about it today, but now we have some official news about the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer beta via the official website. CharlieOscarDelta.com has just been updated with a truckload of information about the beta, confirming the idea that the beta will start in the US and roll out to other countries soon after as well as other game specifics including gametypes, weapons, classes, controls, perk and other FAQ goodness. The update also confirms that the COD4:MW MP BETA (yes, that is how they abbreviate it) will feature the three maps Overgrown, Vacant, and Crash. So, as you can tell, there's a bunch of information to take in and still no firm release date.But we're sure you're wondering how exactly you can enter the COD4:MW MP BETA fun and to be honest it's quite easy and quite random. The download codes will be available on a first come first serve basis to those who answer three trivia questions correctly. But you'll have to keep an eye on the beta page, because the questions and entry into the beta are set at a "coming soon!" status and could open up at any moment in the near future. Head on over to CharlieOscarDelta.com fanboys, soak it all in and prepare for some beta fun![Thanks, SadistiK Roth]
