Our world has gone beyond parody as the official White House account is posting Call of Duty footage to glorify the United States’ ongoing military operations in Iran. The footage of the airstrikes is overlaid with Call of Duty points and killstreak bonuses.
In response to this post, Chance Glasco, one of the founding members of Infinity Ward, revealed that the studio’s parent company, Activision, tried to pressure Infinity Ward into making a game about Iran invading Israel.
Political Motivations
“This doesn’t surprise me,” Glasco wrote in response to the White House’s post. “I remember after Activision took over post-Respawn formation, there was a very awkward pressure from Activision for us to make the next Call of Duty about Iran attacking Israel. Luckily, the vast majority of our developers were disgusted by the idea, and it got shot down.”
Respawn Entertainment—founded by Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and the late Vince Zampella—was formed in 2010, following the pair’s high-profile falling-out with Activision over unpaid bonuses.
This split happened in 2010, following the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. At the time, the relationship between the United States and Iran was strained, as the latter had a confrontational president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was hostile towards the West and outwardly refused to halt the country’s work towards a nuclear program.
As always, tensions between Israel and Iran were high during this period. The nuclear program greatly concerned Israel, which tasked its intelligence service Mossad with assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists to try and halt their progress.
In response to a user wondering why an Iranian invasion of Israel would be any different to other Call of Duty premises, Glasco wrote, “My point is that the government would happily use entertainment, including video games, as a way to sway public opinion on major issues. There have been decades of pressure for a war with Iran across multiple administrations. The scenarios you mentioned, not so much.”
The next Call of Duty game released was the original Black Ops, set in the 1960s against the backdrop of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Vietnam War.
Call of Duty
- Released
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October 29, 2003
- ESRB
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Teen // Blood, Violence
- Engine
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id Tech 3
- Multiplayer
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Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
