Why Gearbox Said No to Call of Duty

Could you imagine Call of Duty with a different developer?  It could have happened, but the team at Gearbox Software declined.

Now, before we get into the details behind Gearbox Software’s lack of interest in developing Call of Duty, it should be noted that there was no “official proposal or refusal” between them and Activision.  Gearbox, the company behind the Borderlands and Brothers in Arms franchises, just to name a couple, was approached by Activision in the past about the possibility of developing a Call of Duty title.  As we now know, nothing ever came of it. 

Gearbox president Randy Pitchford gave some reasons why in an interview with Krawall: “I just didn't see what there was left to accomplish. For me, there are two scenarios for which a Gearbox project makes sense.  First, when the game just wouldn't have existed without us. Or second, when we could offer something new for an existing brand, a unique perspective or a new start.”  Pitchford said neither scenario was present with Call of Duty.

He continued, saying: “I think, if you want to give people the Call of Duty that they want, you have to play by the rules of the series. You have to do what is expected of a Call of Duty game. I don't see that as a real challenge for us. It wouldn't further build our reputation as a studio and wouldn't really be that motivating for our team.”