Mohamed Hassan 
God of War motion capture actor Christopher Judge sparked controversy with Call of Duty developers when he commented on the brevity of Modern Warfare 3’s campaign during the Game Awards 2023.
Although Judge won the “Best Performance” category at The Game Awards 2022 for his role as Kratos in God of War: Ragnarok, his appearance at the show is remembered for his eight-minute acceptance speech. Developers and award winners this year were forced to rush through their speeches by the organizers’ teleprompter in fear of a Judge-like lengthy speech, something head organizer Geoff Keighley himself admitted.
This year, Judge was brought back to kick off and liven up the awards ceremony, with his appearance including a jab at Modern Warfare 3. His attempt at humor was perceived by some as demeaning to the efforts of the developers, rather than a lighthearted gesture. This resulted in a Twitter kerfuffle involving some of the team behind Modern Warfare 3, Judge, and God of War.
Modern Warfare 3 developers outraged by The Game Awards diss
Several Call of Duty developers and the motion-capture actor who plays Captain Price took to Twitter to express their disapproval of Judge’s The Game Awards comment.
“My speech was actually longer than this year’s Call of Duty campaign,” Judge said on stage before laughing off the situation, adding that Activision is now another company he won’t be working for. The joke was met with laughter from the audience, but drew ire from former and current Call of Duty developers.
The anger took a personal turn toward the God of War as a franchise that Judge has come to symbolize. Former Infinity Ward developer Ajinkya Limaye referred to vague metrics that Call of Duty beats God of War in, considering the difference more laughable than Call of Duty’s length. An associate art director at Treyarch ridiculed a supposed lack of user engagement after completing a God of War game. There are no actual statistics to measure this, and God of War is strictly a single-player game while Call of Duty is multiplayer-focused. The pair both got ratioed for the comments.
Captain Price’s motion-capture artist, Barry Sloane, used a clown emoji to convey his lack of amusement. This was a sample of what went on to become social media bickering between personalities and developers from the two franchises.
One developer stated that they were hurt by how the remark was made by a peer at an event celebrating gaming achievements. This sentiment was echoed by others, who felt the joke was inappropriate for what is meant to be a positive setting
Fans acknowledged their respect for the developers and cast, but felt the reaction was misplaced. They argued that the comment focused solely on the length of the campaign and not the developers’ involvement or the quality of the franchise.
How long is the Modern Warfare 3 campaign?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 takes approximately 5 to 8 hours to complete, depending on difficulty and play style.
Developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision, the third entry in the reboot trilogy of the Modern Warfare series was criticized for its short campaign that recycled assets from multiplayer maps.
According to a recent report from Jason Schreier, Modern Warfare 3 was developed in just 16 months, half the time it takes to develop a typical Call of Duty game. It was also stated that Modern Warfare 3 was pitched as an expansion before evolving into a full game, which may explain its heavily criticized length and scope. Sledgehammer employees also referenced crunches and having to work on weekends in regard to the game.
Did Modern Warfare 3 win any game awards?
Modern Warfare 3 has not won or been nominated for any notable video game awards in 2023.
Despite being the best-selling game on Steam and the best-selling physical title in the UK during its launch week, outselling titles such as Super Mario Bros Wonder, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and EA Sports FC 24, Modern Warfare 3 has not won or been nominated for any game awards this year.
Modern Warfare 3 currently holds the title of being the worst-reviewed game in Call of Duty history, with a review averages universally under 70%. The game’s user scores are significantly lower. The next game in the Call of Duty franchise will be a new entry in the Black Ops series.
