Rumor: SOE devs are the focus of Infinity Ward hiring [Updated]
by Krystalle Voecks 
Jan 8th 2010 at 5:30PM
Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Opinion, MMOFPS, Rumors
If these rumors are true, the resultant game could be the source of many fanboy head-explosions -- and we're not talking headshots. Hiring SOE's developers gives IW a ready-made team that is very familiar with the nuts and bolts of coding MMOs. Add to it the rabid fanbase tied to the Call of Duty franchise, and mix in the fact that Infinity Ward is owned by Activision Blizzard, and you can see where we're going with this. Could a Call of Duty MMO be the super-secret MMOFPS that Blizzard is involved with? Is this why SOE has started working on PlanetSide 2: to compete with a potential MMOFPS hybrid from Infinity Ward, Blizzard, and their own ex-employees? While it's all rumor right now, and thus anyone's guess, it certainly makes for a potentially tasty batch of kool-aid.
[Edited to add] Alan "Brenlo" Crosby, Executive Producer for EverQuest II contacted us to let us know that the rumor about the Lead Developer for EverQuest II going to Infinity Ward is absolutely false. He suggested that the rumor may have instead started since previous SOE Lead Developers Jon L. Davis and Rick Baker are working at Infinity Ward currently. So while it seems that current SOE people are off the table, it certainly doesn't stop the potential of a CoD MMO -- especially with talented ex-SOE employees already in-house over at Infinity Ward.
[via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ethereal.wolf said on 5:39PM 1-08-2010
global agenda looks more interesting tbh. activision running a MMOFPS probably means you'll have to pay a sub AND look at in game ads. yes i'm still kinda bitter about ET:QW, can u tell.
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Temploiter said on 5:48PM 1-08-2010
Why would they want to poach from the worst talent pool in the industry?
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Ryan said on 5:54PM 1-08-2010
Temploiter -- first, they aren't the worst. Many others are worse than SOE. Some of SOE's games are actually pretty good, and at least one of them was revolutionary (there wouldn't be a WoW without an EQ).
Furthermore, in terms of MMOFPS, SOE actually has one of the best - and probably the best, given the lack of MMOFPS out there - with Planetside, which is a game that I've never heard complaints from of those who I've known to play it.
Kdolo said on 7:04PM 1-08-2010
that would be Cryptic.
CCon99 said on 6:02PM 1-08-2010
Oh dear god, please no. The last thing I want to see is one of SOE's incompetent Dev teams working on a successful franchise. I can see Smedley with that huge grin on his face thinking how "Fun & Exciting" it will be to charge gamers Station Cash for their ammunition.
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Keen said on 6:05PM 1-08-2010
I chuckled. ;)
beardOsaurus said on 6:10PM 1-08-2010
Can't we all just leave Smedley alone? The days of SWG are over, let by gones be by gones.
Mr Angry said on 6:13PM 1-08-2010
No sorry.
To use an excellent analogy, with very good reason, people still dislike Hitler....
CCon99 said on 6:30PM 1-08-2010
@beardOsaurus
I've never blamed SWG's downfall on Smedley, that was all LucasArts and Jake Neary (who sadly is one of the head people in charge of SWTOR on LA's end). Smedley never had much say in SWG's development, which is why it was a great game for it's first 2 years (despite its abysmal rush to launch).
Wjowski said on 3:04PM 1-10-2010
Actually, no, comparing the CEO of an online gaming company to a dictator responsible for the murder of billions is not a good analogy.
PCGK said on 6:22PM 1-08-2010
Wow, had no idea so many people didn't like SOE.
Granted, I've only recently converted to an MMO gamer...
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mpdivo said on 6:34PM 1-08-2010
what happened to SWG was the worst thing ever to happen to any MMORPG, ever. Smedley will forever be associated with trying to take a functioning game and turn it into a WoW clone.
Dranaerys said on 6:47PM 1-08-2010
ITs not going to go to SoE, Mr Kotick is rubbing his hands at the cashola possibility of getting Bliz to make its second MMO a CoD MMO, hes not going to outsource it to SoE, who are their competition.
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Mr Angry said on 6:51PM 1-08-2010
Updated : The lady doth protest too much, methinks!!
Obviously hit a nerve with SOE, funny how they can respond to this type of thing in milliseconds huh.....
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Wjowski said on 3:10PM 1-10-2010
No, you hit a nerve with your retarded, over-the-top Hitler analogy.
Mr Angry said on 3:24PM 1-10-2010
It was a joke, retard....
RogueJedi86 said on 6:57PM 1-08-2010
I remember Brenlo from the days when he was doing damage control on the SWG forums over the NGE.
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Weez said on 7:06PM 1-08-2010
SOE should have known better than to piss off 2000 Star Wars dorks.
I swear to god..NGE..Big deal. Its about time to move on.
Equating the genocide of 6 million jews to SWG's NGE is the most ignorant thing I have possibly ever heard. Mr. Angry sinks to a new low in this column.
Old Smed make a few mistakes of course, but cut the guy some slack. How the hell long ago was that?
Now, about the article. Good on them. if this was true. I'd hope it was 95% Infinity Ward and 5% Blizzard.
Leave it to Blizzard to give you an FPS that when you get shot, your shooter dies too, you both get experience, level up, and get a UBER GUN OF PWNAGE looted off your own corpse, and a Small panda cosmetic pet, to deal with the anguish of having fallen in battle.
Less is More, as in Less Blizzard is More Acceptable.
Thanks.
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Pitty said on 7:08PM 1-08-2010
if you jackasses knew anything about MMO's you'd realise that half the blizzard dev team got into making MMO's purely because of a little game called Everquest.
They also did a great job with EQ2 and it's still better than wow imo. and i'm telling you now the next EQ title will be very big news, although could be a few years away.
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sikk said on 8:26PM 1-08-2010
IW, PC, and MMOFPS? So you're telling me we'll get a call of duty game with mmo aspects running P2P, fully unmoderated, hacks on day one with VAC support? Sign me up! Or wait how bout NO. F IW, and F anything they do on the PC market in the future.
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