In this screen shot provided by Activision, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,” the upcoming installment of the popular shooter series, is shown.By DERRIK J. LANG
AP Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES – Behind a pair of nondescript black doors on the second floor of an angular office building along an unremarkable stretch of Ventura Boulevard is the headquarters for “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” developer Infinity Ward. It’s out of sight from Hollywood in an unsuspectingly sterile place where one might except to find spreadsheets, not video games.
Yet beyond these doors is where one of the gaming industry’s most successful titles was created – and where its sequel nearly unraveled last year when “Call of Duty” publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. fired Infinity Ward executives Jason West and Vince Zampella, a shake-up that left shoot-’em-up fans wondering if there would even be a “Modern Warfare 3.”
Past the trophy case in the reception area, on the opposite side of the building from the cafeteria that’s always stocked with energy drinks, is the corner conference room where the developers from Silicon Valley-based Sledgehammer Games would meet with the San Fernando Valley-based Infinity Ward staffers who didn’t follow West and Zampella out the doors.