Treyarch could give "so much more" with Black Ops II over BLOPS 1

Treyarch is going all out with the development of Black Ops II, studio boss Mark Lamia has said.

In an AusGamers interview, Lamia said the studio felt it could do so much more within the Black Ops universe that the decision to go back to it and go down the futuristic route was made as the original Black Ops was going through first-party submission.

"As we were wrapping up Black Ops 1, the team was really firing on all cylinders. And while we really gave everything we had to that, and we were really happy with it, we kind of felt like, as a team, that was the first time that the entire studio had just focused on one game," he said.

"So we were really proud of what we’d created, but we felt like that was kind of like the base-level. We felt like we could push it so much more. So that’s why you’re seeing so many new things go into Black Ops 2."

He added: "The fiction itself, to take it to the near future, we can trace that back to while we were in submission with Black Ops 1. The game is basically done, it’s submitted to first-parties -- which as it’s being manufactured; before it hits the shelves.

"In the past, sometimes we’ve felt like we need a little bit of a break, but we were just super-excited about what we had created, so we started spinning on “hey, with this one, we can take it to the near future. But we want it to be a sequel to the characters; and we can do this generation spinning”. Just all of these different ideas started coming to the surface.

"So, while -- like I said -- probably the worst kept secret in gaming is that 'Treyarch are making Call of Duty: Black Ops II', exactly what Call of Duty: Black Ops II is, is probably the best kept secret in gaming."

Black Ops II launches on November 13.