Activision boosts Call of Duty development resource

Modern Warfare 2 has become a true entertainment phenomenon, having generated $550m globally in its first five days on the market.

Now some of that money is to be reinvested in growing the Call of Duty franchise further.

A report in the LA Times says that publisher Activision has already charged a third studio to work alongside the productions by in-house teams Infinity Ward and Treyarch to work on a new game in the franchise.

The report says: "The publisher has aggressive expansion plans for Call of Duty. Although Infinity Ward and Treyarch have produced sequels in alternating years since 2005, the publisher now has a third development studio working on future versions."

And Activision isn't just focusing on the regular disc releases - it's also looking to make a Call of Duty MMO, the paper has been told by a 'person close to the company'.

Activision's Blizzard studio runs World of Warcraft - one of the most lucrative online games ever.