Infinity Ward to reclaim Call of Duty franchise?

Infinity Ward, the studio that gave birth to the popular Call of Duty franchise, is to once again become the series’ exclusive developer once the Treyarch-developed Call of Duty 5 is released,

Next-Gen

is claiming.

The site reports that Infinity Ward has renegotiated its contract with publisher and owner Activision so that it can reclaim the exclusive development rights to the series.

Whilst the studio handled the PC debut and multi-format sequel, as well as massive global hit Call of Duty 4, fellow Activision studio Treyarch took the helm for the third instalment.

Since then the plan has been for the two studios to alternate development responsibilities – with Treyarch currently working on the upcoming Call of Duty 5.

Next-Gen also claims that the move is connected with the recently closed Activision studio Underground, which was apparently working on a non-FPS instalment to the Call of Duty series.

[UPDATE: Activision has contacted MCV to say that the claims are not true. A statement is expected to follow from the publisher some time tonight or tomorrow.]