The former boss of Sledgehammer Games, Glen Schofield, has expressed concern for the future of the Call of Duty franchise now it is under Microsoft's control. 

The development vet spoke to VGC, pointing to the Xbox firm's other shooter series such as Gears of War and Halo. 

“I worry about it immensely, I really do,” Schofield said. 

“Because what’s happening to Gears of War, where’s Halo… you know what I mean? And you look at EA, you look at these big companies, and I’m like where’s the Strike games? Where’s this game? And there’s so many that just fall by the wayside.”

“Unfortunately, once you’re assimilated by one of these companies, I think you take on some of their traits. The other thing is, I don’t know, but I would imagine that the Call of Duty bonus system is out, and now you have theirs, and people are going to go ‘that isn’t that’.”

Schofield went on to say that the quality of the Call of Duty franchise has declined since he and other key players in the series had departed. 

“I hate doing this, but since I left Sledgehammer, none of the games have been very good,” Schofield said. “I mean, the last one [Modern Warfare 3 (2023)] was a 50. They still sell well. You know, that happens. You move. I always wonder ‘why did you take that guy out, it’s not going to work later’, and very few times does that work.

“They just aren’t as good. They aren’t the same. Treyarch’s still really good but you know… I feel like I got lucky. I feel like I was at the heyday of EA during my time there. I mean, it was a who’s who working there. And then when I got to Activision, I made Modern Warfare 3 (2011).