Infinity Ward: Leaving behind Modern Warfare ''a long decision''

Infinity Ward's next Call of Duty has been revealed as the all-new Call of Duty: Ghosts, instead of another sequel in Modern Warfare series. According to Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin, the studio's decision to leave behind the popular sub-series was the desire to create something new.

"[It was] not a hard decision, but a long decision," Rubin told MCV. "When we finished Modern Warfare 3, we had this big brainstorming session that lasted for weeks. We all really knew we wanted to continue making Call of Duty. We wanted to create a new universe, or a new story at least. We wanted new characters and new experiences."

"The easy thing would have been - as we had finished the arc of Modern Warfare 1, 2 and 3 - to start a new arc within that same universe. That was the first step. But due to a lot of the changes we wanted to make with this new world, it really dictated out that we needed to make something that wasn't Modern Warfare."

Call of Duty: Ghosts is coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this year, with an updated engine along for the ride. Rubin said that while technology isn't everything, next generation consoles do provide the chance to increase realism in the series.

"From a gameplay standpoint, we never felt hindered by the generation or the consoles or the tech," said Rubin. "We always felt gameplay isn't tech-dependant necessarily. But this new tech allows us to make those worlds that we are playing in more realistic. We always try to make it so the player always feels naturally involved in the world around them. The more realistic and natural the environment, the more the player's imagination melds with that game."