Call of Duty "never been stronger"

The Call of Duty series has "never been stronger" as it gears up for the latest yearly installment, according to Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg.

Critics of the franchise believe that having a yearly Call of Duty release ruins the quality of the games, and each one is simply an update that doesn't bring anything new to the table.

Hirshberg couldn't disagree more, claiming that Call of Duty is actually more popular than ever before, so they must be doing something right.

"At this moment in time, we have more people playing every month, more people logging on to play every day, a better digital business with people playing longer into the cycle of each product and purchasing more DLC and purchasing micro-DLC and purchasing season passes," he told IGN.

"Anticipation is high for Ghosts. When you're building off such a strong foundation of engaged players, that's usually a pretty good sign."

Hirshberg added that creating a Call of Duty game that wasn't Modern Warfare or Black Ops was a way for the developers to be a bit more creative.

"At the end of the day, it all comes down to us making another great game.

"That's why we set the stage for greatness with Ghosts by wiping the slate clean creatively, not doing another Modern Warfare game with Infinity Ward, allowing them to create an entirely new narrative and cast of characters.

"We're shaking things up. Multiplayer is going to have new ideas. Dynamic maps are something we're doing. Character customisation is something we're doing."

He also said that storylines in games are becoming a lot more mature, and Ghosts is being written by Hollywood talent to reflect that.

Call of Duty: Ghosts launches 5 November for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, before hitting Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later in the year.