Chance Glasco dropped a revelation about a rejected Call of Duty concept that never made it past the pitch stage. The Infinity Ward co-founder and longtime Call of Duty developer revealed that Activision representatives pushed for a game centered on Iran attacking Israel.
Glasco said the pressure came from “external folks” at Activision during early pre-production meetings after the publisher took control of Infinity Ward. The development team shot down the idea quickly because they didn’t want to touch that subject matter.
To clear things up, Glasco made it clear he has no proof the push originated from government instruction. He stressed that his main point stands regardless: there was pressure from Activision representatives to pursue this specific geopolitical storyline.
Glasco framed his motivation for speaking out around concerns that entertainment media can be used to normalize wars or build public support for military action. He believes high-level government connections to Activision may exist, though he acknowledged this as his opinion rather than verified fact.
The Iran-Israel conflict remains one of the most politically charged geopolitical tensions in the world. A major AAA franchise depicting it would risk diplomatic blowback, hurt sales in certain markets, and invite accusations of propaganda.
Call of Duty has tackled controversial scenarios before. The Modern Warfare series has built its reputation on ripped-from-headlines campaigns, from the infamous “No Russian” airport massacre in Modern Warfare 2 to disputed portrayals of real-world events in the 2019 reboot.
Why this matters for the franchise
This allegation offers a rare glimpse into the pitch process for one of gaming’s biggest franchises. It shows how publishers can float concept ideas during early development even if teams ultimately reject them.
Infinity Ward was founded in 2002 by developers who worked on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. The studio launched the first Call of Duty in 2003 and became synonymous with the Modern Warfare sub-series starting with Call of Duty 4 in 2007. Activision has owned and published Infinity Ward games since the franchise’s inception, though the relationship became more formalized over time.
