The idea to write this only just came after discovering that a new Call of Duty game came out. The moment I read those headlines, Guitar Hero immediately came to mind. And two words associated with that Franchise are: totally milked. And I’m not alone in believing that the Call of Duty franchise is being driven into the ground. So I must say my Opinion on the matter.

Only three months have passed since the release of one of the best selling games in history: Modern Warfare 2. Since November 10th, 2009, an army of players have been pouring hours of their lives online and offline in the trenches of Modern Warfare. The Call of Duty label is the biggest thing in gaming right now. But, is it wearing thin? After all, there have been countless other successful franchises that fell into a ditch and never returned. Tomb Raider, Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero, and the now-infamous Sonic the Hedgehog. All of these enjoyed strong fanbases and had genuinely fun games to offer. That is, until more and more games came out. And with each release, the quality diminished, until they became sort a joke in the industry.

So what’s really got me concerned is that Activision is going to suck Modern Warfare dry. They’ve already announced a new game for the series. And there’s a big change in Infinity Ward: the loss of studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West. Lots of gamers are worried that Activision doesn’t care about the studio’s future; only about the money being put into their pocket. Activision has already expressed their view of game prices, with CEO Bobby Kotick stating that f it was up to him “he’d raise the prices even further.”

The new game in the Call of Duty franchise that we heard about is being released in 2011. Okay. That’s a reasonable length from last November. But then Activision recently announced that Treyarch, the developer that handled World at War , would be releasing a new COD game that will hit shelves this fall. I smell another internet petition coming on…

A game franchise is a delicate thing. If you pull it off right the first time with only a few issues left, all those can be fixed in the sequel if the game’s successful. But success with the sequel means that maybe another sequel is on the way, especially if there’s a contract in the mix. A franchise can be continued the right way with multiple sequels and still seem fresh if it’s done right (Halo, anybody?). But if you milk the cow for too long, the stuff starts to lose its original zing that brought you in in the first place. And then, sadly, the cow dies.

Share your own opinion in the comments or drop me a line at [email protected].