Sledgehammer on Modern Warfare 3?

Sledgehammer Games' first Call of Duty title will be Modern Warfare 3, according to reports.

The Los Angeles Times has claimed that Activision has drafted in the new studio, founded by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield, to help the beleaguered Infinity Ward team with the game's single player campaign, for a planned November 2011 launch.

Further to that, the LA Times writes that Raven Software will be responsible for the online multiplayer portion of the game. The Wisconsin-based studio was responsible for 2009's Wolfenstein reboot and last year's Singularity. A job advertisement posted last month stating that the developer was working on "an established console-based, realistic, first-person military shooter" adds a little weight to the report.

If Infinity Ward was to get a new Modern Warfare title out of the door in time for November, it would no doubt appreciate all the help it could get. It's been reported that around 50 employees left the developer after the high profile sacking of studio chiefs Vince Zampella and Jason West last year.

Rumours circulated last year that Sledgehammer's debut Call of Duty title for Activision would take the franchise in a futuristic direction, setting the action in outer space. As of yet, it's not clear whether that title could be Modern Warfare 3 or a separate project.