Quote:"Grand Theft Auto 5 has a fair chance of knocking the FPS series off the top of the annual best-seller lists it so regularly dominates, but Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg has told CVG there's room for both Rockstar's game and Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Ghosts to succeed this year. "Obviously, [GTA] is a hugely successful franchise, and I get asked about our big competitors every year," he said in a newly published interview.

"We're always up against iconic titles, and I know people like to tell a clash-of-the-titans story, but I feel there's lots of evidence that there's room for more than one successful game, and indeed more than one successful blockbuster. And if people only have money for a few games, I like our chances that Call of Duty will be one of them."

Asked if he believes Call of Duty can continue to grow as a franchise, Hirshberg said: "I certainly hope so. The fact that it's a console transition year adds complexity, and if you look historically at what happens during console transitions is there are short-term challenges followed by long-term opportunities.

"We've discussed that pretty openly, but that said I think the franchise has never been stronger. More people are playing Call of Duty now than ever before, and in terms of performance we're producing the best season of digital content we've ever had.

"These things point to key interest and momentum, but there are challenges and confusion in the marketplace with regards to whether people are going for current gen or next gen. I think the creative challenge we have with Call of Duty is to make a game the fans love and at the same time build a new game that's innovative."