A former Call of Duty developer says that the next game in the series could be courting controversy in order to gain attention. Micheal Condrey, formerly of Sledgehammer Games, says that Modern Warfare could prove challenging for its developers, especially if Activision’s involvement is proving heavy-handed.

In an interview with VentureBeat, Condrey was asked about his take on the “disturbing” nature of the upcoming game. In response, he said that “I respect every developer who strives to deliver their work as an extension or reflection of their artistic vision. That said, MW seems like a tough challenge for any studio, especially if they are being pushed by publishing to be more controversial and “darker” for the sake of headlines.”

That seems like a big ‘if’, but it’s certainly not an impossibility. Thanks to missions like No Russian, and the London terror attack from Condrey’s own Modern Warfare 3, neither the Modern Warfare franchise nor the Call of Duty series as a whole are strangers to making headlines thanks to controversial scenes.

Condrey worked as director on three Call of Duty games – Modern Warfare 3, Advanced Warfare, and WWII – before moving to an executive position at Activision in early 2018. In December, he left the publisher to establish a new 2K Games studio. Given his attachment to the series as a whole – and his position within Activision – it’s certainly feasible that he’s heard tell of pressure from the publisher to make the game as noteworthy as possible ahead of release.

That said, that’s far from being exactly what he said, and Modern Warfare’s more controversial moments could prove to be an important part of its plot rather than some kind of marketing gimmick. Either way, we won’t have to wait too long to find out, as the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare release date is only a few short months away.