Activision: New Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, Bond In 2009

Activision yesterday revealed a number of titles it plans to publish in 2009, with new entries in major in-house franchises Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and Tony Hawk, among others. The announcements came during an in-game ad 'upfront' event conducted by Microsoft-owned in-game advertising firm Massive Inc., as reported by consumer blog MTV Multiplayer. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was said to be coming in fall 2009. No details on the game were given, but it is likely that original series creator Infinity Ward is handling development. The divergence of series numbering, following 2006's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare by Infinity Ward and this year's Call of Duty: World at War by Treyarch, suggests that Activision may plan to more clearly delineate the ongoing franchise's sub-series. The Tony Hawk skateboarding series will return next October after having skipped 2008. After being vaguely mentioned earlier this year, today it was slightly less vaguely mentioned with the clue, "You're not going to be playing this game with a controller in your hands." Unsurprisingly, Guitar Hero 5 (likely a working title) will also appear next year, though no details were provided. Both it and Tony Hawk are led by developer Neversoft. Confirming rumors dating back to last year, Project Gothan Racing developer Bizarre Creations -- acquired by Activision in September 2007 -- was said to be working on a new James Bond-licensed title with a heavy emphasis on driving. Bizarre is also developing an original property, reportedly described as "Mario Kart meets Forza."