Call of Duty developers past and present have taken to social media to express their frustration with a comment made by God of War voice actor Christopher Judge at The Game Awards.
During a speech delivered by Judge at The Game Awards on December 7, ahead of him presenting the Best Performance award to Baldur's Gate 3's Neil Newbon, the actor made fun of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's campaign.
"I’m not going to stand up here, making long speeches. I’m going to stick to the script. No eight-minute speech like last year," Judge said, referencing the 2022 award ceremony when he won Best Performance for his role as Kratos in God of War Ragnarok. "But fun fact, my speech was actually longer than this year’s Call of Duty campaign," he added.
"funny" but yeah the metrics that CoD absolutely destroys all of the God of war games (probably combined tbh) in is also equally laughable (if not more) . https://t.co/QDhc3qZ1se
— Ajinkya Limaye (Aj) (@iddqd_Aj) December 8, 2023
The joke was met with more shocked reaction than anything else at The Game Awards, with the camera panning to attendees that covered their mouths or sat straight faced. But Call of Duty developers didn't hide their reactions, posting on social media to criticise the joke.
"Funny", said Ajinkya Limaye, a former Call of Duty developer at Infinity Ward that now works as a senior systems designer at Bungie. "But yeah, the metrics that Call of Duty absolutely destroys all of the God of War games (probably combined to be honest) is also equally laughable (if not more)."
Associate art director of fellow Call of Duty studio Treyarch Nelson Plumey weight in too: "Imagine having short user engagement once your game is consumed. Can't relate," they said.
Imagine having $hort user engagement once your game is consumed… can’t relate. ?#gameawards
— ᴛⲓⲥҡʟᴇмʌꚍꚍᴇʀ (@Ticklematter) December 8, 2023
"Honestly, as Call of Duty developers, we've heard way worse," added expert engineer at another Call of Duty developer, Sledgehamer Games, Darcy Sandall.
"But we don't expect it from a peer, at an event that supposed to be celebrating this years achievements in gaming. Especially with all the information that was leaked about it's development."
As well as the leaks mentioned by Sandall, which got so bad publisher Activision even made fun of the situation, Modern Warfare 3 developers were also reportedly the victims of crunch, creating the game in 18 months instead of the usual three year process.
Honestly, as COD developers, we've heard way worse. But we don't expect it from a peer, at an event that supposed to be celebrating this years achievements in gaming. Especially with all the information that was leaked about it's development. https://t.co/6uFg1zAgqK
— Darcy Sandall ? (@darcy_sandall) December 8, 2023
The game was originally conceived as an expansion to 2022's Modern Warfare 2 before Activision turned it into a standalone, full-priced entry. This rushed development didn't result in a positive reception for the game, however.
Its campaign earned a 4/10 in IGN's review: "Underbaked, rehashed, and cobbled together from multiplayer parts, Modern Warfare 3’s single player campaign is everything a Call of Duty story mode shouldn’t be."
Image Credit: Scott Garfitt/BAFTA via Getty Images
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
