There will not be a new engine for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, but developer Treyarch says that’s because it doesn’t need one.
The Call of Duty franchise has been running on the IW3.0 engine since 2007, with the exception of Modern Warfare 2, which used IW4.0. But don’t expect a major under-the-hood overhaul for Black Ops II, even though the game has been teased as something that will have “disruptive innovation.”
Treyarch’s Mark Lamia was quoted by Oneofswords.com as saying, “People always ask me, ‘Is this a new engine?’ I liken it to people who live in an older house that has been remodeled … It’s a gross simplification, but it’s one way to say that. There’s a lot of good still in that foundation that you wouldn’t get rid of, and we don’t. We look to advance in the areas that support our game design.”
When it launched, the first Blacks Ops quickly added a bunch of sales records to its resume, including the biggest launch in the history of video games and various marks (e.g., first-week sales) that placed it as the fastest-selling game as well.
Interestingly enough, the previous record holders in these instances were earlier installments in the Call of Duty franchise. Activision continues to set new records.
And it is quite possible that Black Ops II will even smash those records. In fact, even though the game was just announced days ago, and the first trailer only launched earlier this week, it is already claiming a pre-order sales record.
The Call of Duty franchise is nothing but a cash cow for Activision, and even though it churns them out like butter, each one manages to gain as much critical acclaim as any other title before it. Black Ops II has a lot to live up to.
