Raven Software program was at one time engaged on a standalone live-service model of Name of Obligation’s common Zombies mode, ex-Raven Software program lead designer Michael Gummelt has revealed, nevertheless it was cancelled after its IP originator – presumably Treyarch – “needed it again”.
That small revelation comes through Gummelt’s LinkedIn web page (as noticed by MP1ST), which explains he was lead designer on an “formidable new Name of Obligation: Zombies dwell service mission” between 2011 and 2012, however that the entire thing was canceled “when the [Activision] studio that ‘owned’ that a part of the Name of Obligation IP needed it again.”
Gummelt would not explicitly state the identify of the studio, nevertheless it appears cheap to imagine he is referring to developer Treyarch, who created the mode for 2008’s Name of Obligation: World at Warfare.
Alas, there is no juicy gossip of potential inter-studio rivalry to be present in Gummelt’s CV, however he does point out Raven additionally started work on a sequel to one among its basic IPs in 2019, leading to two “extremely playable” proof-of-concept prototypes. Nonetheless, Activision finally pulled the plug on the mission after Name of Obligation: Warzone proved to be a smash hit and Raven, a long-time help studio for the writer, was required to help.
This bit of stories, frankly, is way extra devastating than Raven’s canned Zombies sport, given the studio counts basic (and long-dormant) fantasy first-person shooters Heretic and Hexen in its again catalogue – each of which might be wonderful candidates for resurrection. However, sadly, neither was to be as soon as Warzone began producing the large bucks – an enormous disgrace given the continuing boomer-shooter revival.
Nowadays Gummelt is an “expertise director” engaged on a triple-A title at Zenimax On-line Studios, nevertheless it’s nonetheless intriguing to get a glimpse into what might need been for Raven Software program if the Name of Obligation juggernaut wasn’t fairly as all-consuming at Activision.
