Activision: Call of Duty has “never been stronger,” claims “we set the stage for greatness with Ghosts”

Every year, there’s a new Call of Duty game released by Activision and every year, more and more people are saying that the franchise is on a downward spiral, which in itself is debatable. However, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg doesn’t think that’s the case. In fact, he thinks the Call of Duty brand “has never been stronger.” In an interview with IGN, Hirshberg states that more and more people are playing every month, purchasing more DLC and how all seems to be “going well.”

All I can tell you is that the franchise has never been stronger…At this moment in time, we have more people playing every month, more people logging on to play every day, a better digital business with people playing longer into the cycle of each product and purchasing more DLC and purchasing micro-DLC and purchasing season passes. Those are all the hard measures. How is the content we’re making selling? Are people enjoying it? That seems to be going well. Then you look at the softer measures, just in terms of social media engagement and video views. Anticipation is high for Ghosts. When you’re building off such a strong foundation of engaged players, that’s usually a pretty good sign.

Hirshberg wasn’t finished with that, he also states that it all comes down to “making a great game,” and adds that’s why they “set the stage for greatness” with Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Now, at the end of the day, it all comes down to us making another great game…That’s why we set the stage for greatness with Ghosts by wiping the slate clean creatively, not doing another Modern Warfare game with Infinity Ward, allowing them to create an entirely new narrative and cast of characters.

Finally, the CEO comments on the franchise’s bread-and-butter multiplayer and mentions how Ghosts multiplayer is ”going to have new ideas. Dynamic maps are something we’re doing. Character customization is something we’re doing.” Speaking of multiplayer, Activision has announced yesterday that pre-ordering Ghosts will net you the “Free Fall” dynamic map. Do you agree with Hirshberg’s statements or is he just covering up Call of Duty’s decline? Let us know what you think in the comments.