Creating a AAA first-person shooter like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is an extremely complex undertaking that typically requires a team of 200-500 professionals and 2-4 years of development time with a budget of $50-200 million.
Programming Team (30-50 people)
Engine programmers
Gameplay programmers
Graphics programmers
Network/multiplayer programmers
AI programmers
Audio programmers
Tools programmers
Art Team (80-120 people)
Concept artists
3D modelers
Texture artists
Animation team
VFX artists
Environment artists
Character artists
Technical artists
Design Team (20-30 people)
Game designers
Level designers
Systems designers
UI/UX designers
Narrative designers
Audio Team (10-15 people)
Sound designers
Audio engineers
Music composers
Voice acting directors
Quality Assurance (50-80 people)
Testers
Compliance specialists
Performance analysts
Unreal Engine 5 (Recommended for beginners)
Built-in networking
Advanced graphics capabilities
Comprehensive toolset
Large community support
Unity (Good alternative)
Flexible and versatile
Strong asset store
Good for prototyping
Custom Engine (What COD actually uses)
Maximum optimization
Complete control
Requires extensive expertise
1. Graphics Engine
Rendering Pipeline
Deferred rendering
Forward+ rendering for transparencies
HDR tone mapping
Post-processing effects
Shadow mapping (cascaded shadow maps)
Screen space reflections
Ambient occlusion (SSAO/HBAO)
Lighting System
Dynamic lighting
Global illumination
Light probes
Volumetric lighting
Material System
Physically-based rendering (PBR)
Shader compilation system
Material editor
2. Physics Engine
Bullet Physics or Havok Physics
Collision detection and response
Ragdoll physics
Particle systems
Destruction systems
Ballistics simulation
3. Audio Engine
3D positional audio
Dynamic range compression
Environmental audio effects
Voice communication system
Music dynamic layering system
4. Networking Architecture
Client-Server Model
Dedicated servers
Anti-cheat integration
Lag compensation
Prediction and rollback
Bandwidth optimization
Matchmaking System
Skill-based matchmaking
Region-based matching
Party system
Lobby management
5. AI Systems
Behavior trees
State machines
Pathfinding (A* algorithm)
Combat AI
Squad-based AI coordination
Concept development
Technical feasibility studies
Art style definition
Core gameplay prototyping
Technology stack selection
Engine development/modification
Asset creation pipeline setup
Core systems implementation
Level creation
Character modeling and animation
Multiplayer infrastructure
Internal testing
Closed alpha testing
Open beta testing
Bug fixing and optimization
Balance adjustments
Final optimization
Platform certification
Marketing campaign
Day-one patch preparation
Launch preparation
Character Models: 50,000-100,000 polygons
Weapon Models: 15,000-30,000 polygons
Environment Assets: Varying complexity
Texture Resolution: 2K-8K textures
Motion capture studio
Facial animation systems
Procedural animation
Animation blending systems
High-quality weapon sounds (96kHz/24-bit)
Environmental audio
Character voice acting
Dynamic music system
Dedicated server deployment
Load balancing
Global server distribution
Anti-cheat systems (like BattlEye or VAC)
Player statistics tracking
Team Deathmatch
Search and Destroy
Domination
Headquarters
Ground War (large-scale battles)
Minimum Development Workstation
CPU: Intel i7-12700K or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
RAM: 32GB DDR4
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 3070 or AMD RX 6800 XT
Storage: 2TB NVMe SSD
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Recommended Development Workstation
CPU: Intel i9-13900K or AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
RAM: 64GB DDR5
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4080 or better
Storage: 4TB NVMe SSD + 8TB HDD
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Server Requirements (Per Instance)
CPU: Intel Xeon or AMD EPYC (16+ cores)
RAM: 32-64GB ECC RAM
Network: 1Gbps+ connection
Storage: NVMe SSD for game files
Minimum Requirements
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
CPU: Intel i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600
RAM: 12GB
GPU: NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB or AMD RX 580 8GB
Storage: 150GB available space
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Recommended Requirements
OS: Windows 11 64-bit
CPU: Intel i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
RAM: 16GB
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 3070 or AMD RX 6700 XT
Storage: 150GB SSD space
Network: High-speed broadband
Visual Studio 2022 or CLion
Git for version control
Perforce for large asset management
Jenkins for continuous integration
Autodesk Maya or Blender for 3D modeling
Substance Suite for texturing
Photoshop for 2D art
Houdini for procedural content
Motion Builder for animation
Wwise or FMOD for audio middleware
Pro Tools or Reaper for audio editing
Native Instruments libraries for sound design
Team Salaries: $30-60 million (3 years)
Technology Licensing: $2-5 million
Hardware/Infrastructure: $3-8 million
Marketing: $50-100 million
Total Estimated Budget: $85-175 million
Server Infrastructure: $5-15 million annually
Updates and DLC: $20-40 million annually
Customer Support: $2-5 million annually
Game engine licensing
Music licensing
Voice actor contracts
Art asset licensing
Anti-cheat technology licensing
Console certification processes
Platform holder agreements (Sony, Microsoft, Valve)
Age rating submissions (ESRB, PEGI)
Regional compliance requirements
Steam, Epic Games Store, Battle.net
Console digital stores
Physical retail (optional)
Beta testing campaigns
Influencer partnerships
Esports integration
Community management
Regular gameplay patches
New maps and modes
Weapon balancing
Bug fixes and optimizations
Clan systems
Tournament support
Streaming integration
Social features
If you're an individual or small team wanting to create something similar:
Start Small: Create a simple FPS prototype
Learn Core Skills: Programming, 3D modeling, game design
Use Existing Engines: Unreal Engine 5 or Unity
Build a Team: Recruit skilled developers gradually
Secure Funding: Seek investors or publishers
Focus on Innovation: Find your unique selling proposition
Pre-production: 6-12 months
Production: 24-36 months
Testing and Polish: 6-12 months
Total Development Time: 3-5 years
Creating a game of Modern Warfare 2's caliber requires massive resources, expertise, and time. Most successful approaches involve either joining an established studio or starting with much smaller projects to build experience and funding for larger endeavors.