Joystiq

Black Ops 2 artisans discuss ... Black Ops 2

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:00:00 EST

Trent Reznor, David S. Goyer, and a duo of Treyarch dudes want you to know what they put into Black Ops 2. They also want you to hear an extremely short clip of the Reznor-composed theme song to the game, apparently, as this trailer only allows a teensy bit before cutting off. Blast!

Black Ops 2 artisans discuss ... Black Ops 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No Call of Duty XP event planned for 2012

Xav de Matos — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EST

The Call of Duty franchise won't get its own dedicated expo in 2012, Activision confirmed to Joystiq. Last year's Call of Duty XP event was used to celebrate the franchise's huge fan base, while also setting the stage for Activision to reveal the Call of Duty Elite service.

Rather than hold the event, an Activision representative said that the company's plan is to put more of an emphasis on Cologne, Germany's Gamescom event this August. Activision didn't rule out the possibility of Call of Duty XP returning in the future.

Last year's event was the public, hands-on debut of Modern Warfare 3 from Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games. Proceeds from tickets sold to the event went to Activision's Call of Duty Endowment charity.

No Call of Duty XP event planned for 2012 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2: What we know thus far

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:00:00 EST

This morning's Acti acci-reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, ahead of tonight's big scheduled announcement, is just one more instance in a long line of Black Ops 2-related leaks. But today's leak is a biggie, revealing not just the game's title and launch date, but also new information on the game's setting. "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 propels players into a near future, 21st Century Cold War, where technology and weapons have converged to create a new generation of warfare," the site reads, outing Blops 2's new future setting.

The site also unveiled the game's box art, which depicts a pensive gentleman holding a handgun and a hunting knife. Beyond that, a tipster this morning sent over four screens of the game itself that were apparently snagged from the site's backend (the images section of the site has been stripped of any images for now). As the screen above indicates, drones seem to play some role in Blops 2. And those were teased less than a week ago by ... uh ... this crazy YouTube video.

There's also a debut trailer, albeit one that Acti still has set to private, which we're guessing will roll tonight during the NBA playoffs. What we can tell from the still thumbnail is that you'll either be watching someone else pilot a heli through Los Angeles, or taking the reins yourself (it's unclear from the image). Either way, we're totally psyched at the idea of destroying the site of E3 from a helicopter. Retribution, finally!

The site's pre-order page only lists options for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, seemingly eschewing the variety of other platforms that previous Call of Duty games launched on. It is, of course, possible that Acti is holding other platform announcements for the future, which we'll just chalk up as synergy with the game's near-future setting.

Gallery: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Leak: 5/1/12)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2: What we know thus far originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Call of Duty set for world reveal during NBA playoffs on May 1

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:15:00 EST

Like Madden and Punxsutawney Phil, the annual reveal of a new Call of Duty game isn't what we'd call surprising. It is, however, quite a thrilling notion to many millions of people the world over, which is why we're here to tell you that, yes, another Call of Duty game is getting ready for its big reveal. According to a new countdown timer on Call of Duty's official website, said game will be revealed during the NBA playoffs on May 1 via TNT (apparently the station's "Drama, period" slogan also applies to sports playoffs).

Given the nature of the Call of Duty series, it's very likely that 2012 will see the launch of the next Treyarch-developed CoD title (2011's Modern Warfare 3 was a collaborative effort lead by Infinity Ward). And what might Treyarch be working on? Many (many) indications point to a sequel to 2010's immensely successful Black Ops, but we'll see for sure on May 1.

New Call of Duty set for world reveal during NBA playoffs on May 1 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Treyarch contract art studio employee lists 'Black Ops 2' among current projects [update: pulled!]

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST

Hugo Beyer has worked on some major titles over the years (Beatles Rock Band, Anno 1404), including some still unreleased ones (Doom 4, Aliens: Colonial Marines), at a variety of studios (Terminal Reality, Liquid Development). What stands out to us, however, is his current work with Nerve Software on what he refers to as "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2," as seen on his public LinkedIn page.

"But who is Nerve Software?" you're probably wondering. Nerve has done a bunch of contract work for Activision in the past, including Treyarch-developed James Bond title Quantum of Solace, as well as ... Call of Duty: Black Ops (the first one).

So, there's one more lead in the "Activision and Treyarch are probably gonna release Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 this year" news cycle. Between domain registrations and reported retailer listings in Europe, we're thinking an announcement can't be too far off. Activision and Nerve Software had yet to respond to request for comment as of publishing.

Update: Mr. Beyer (or someone on his behalf) has taken down his LinkedIn page, it would seem. We've still yet to receive responses to comment requests from him, or Nerve Software, or Activision.

Treyarch contract art studio employee lists 'Black Ops 2' among current projects [update: pulled!] originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: 'Black Ops 2' listing spotted on Amazon France

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:06:00 EST

In an entirely unsurprising turn of events, a listing for "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" reportedly popped up on Amazon France this week. GameBlog.fr spotted the listing and grabbed a screenshot (seen above) before it was allegedly pulled, which has resulted in a bit of a kerfuffle between Activision's French arm and the site.

Earlier this year we reported that Activision had already snapped up domain registrations for a variety of Black Ops sequels (all the way up to "Black Ops 6", actually), so the listing on Amazon France doesn't exactly come off as unbelievable. Nor is it a surprise to suppose Activision might want to capitalize on Treyarch's most financially successful -- not to mention critically acclaimed -- Call of Duty titles.

Activision's US reps have yet to get back to us when asked for comment.

[Image credit: GameBlog.fr]

Report: 'Black Ops 2' listing spotted on Amazon France originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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