Alongside the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 today, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier has published a story about the game's rushed development.
One bit of information, in particular, is the mention of the campaign's development cycle. Prior to the "harsh reviews", developers were "forced" to finish this mode for the new entry in "roughly" 16 months. This is supposedly the "shortest development time for a new Call of Duty game in years".
Jason Schreier: "Most Call of Duty games are developed in around three years. But Modern Warfare 3 was made in less than a year and a half, which helps explain the poor reviews. Employees worked nights and weekends to finish the game"
Schreier goes on to detail how the campaign was originally pitched as an expansion, but then got rebooted and transformed into a full-blown sequel. An Activision representative denied this, stating it was a "premium game" from the start. However, other "Call of Duty developers" were supposedly told it was going to be an expansion.
The Bloomberg report also mentions how some staff at Sledgehammer Games had to work in the evenings and on weekends to meet the tight deadline. Studio Head Aaron Halon shared a statement mentioning how the team is "incredibly proud of Modern Warfare III" and has delivered a "vision, which has been years in the making.