Gearbox declined offer to develop a Call of Duty game

Gearbox Software, publisher of the Borderlands series, was approached by Activision a few years ago, and asked them if they wanted to make a Call of Duty game. Gearbox declined their offer.

“I just didn’t see what there was left to accomplish. For me, there are two scenarios for which a Gearbox project makes sense,” Gearbox President Randy Pitchford tells Krawall. “First, when the game just wouldn’t have existed without us. Or second, when we could offer something new for an existing brand, a unique perspective or a new start.”

He went on to state, “I think, if you want to give people the Call of Duty that they want, you have to play by the rules of the series. You have to do what is expected of a Call of Duty game. I don’t see that as a real challenge for us. It wouldn’t further build our reputation as a studio and wouldn’t really be that motivating for our team.”

After this interview was posted, Gearbox immediately clarified to IGN stating that there “wasn’t any official proposal or refusal from both parties,” because there wasn’t any official contracts concerning Gearbox and Activision regarding Call of Duty.

SOURCE: IGN