In less than ten years, Call of Duty has become one of the world’s most successful entertainment franchises—breaking previous sales records set by “Avatar” and “Harry Potter”—and turned its publisher Activision into the largest videogame company by revenue in the United States. Since the series’ relatively humble origins as a World War II-era first person first shooter, the games’ fiction has edged closer and closer to modern-day military conflict. The name of its popular trilogy that wound to a close last year, after all, was Modern Warfare. With Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Activision and developer Treyarch took the franchise’s dark underbelly of Cold War intrigue and covert operations into the future, posing troubling questions about the evolution of military technology and our control over it. With eager Call of Duty fans already lining up for the game’s midnight launch on Tuesday, Speakeasy spoke with political scientist P.W. Singer, who served as a military adviser for Black Ops 2, and Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia about adapting Call of Duty’s fiction for the near-future.

Read the interviews after the jump. Kim Jong Nam's Son Speaks Out on Father's Killing The Dirty Little Secrets of Customer Service Range Rover Velar Debuts at the Geneva Motor Showar drone online kopen ‘Hockey Hair’ Videos Boost Minnesota High-School Tournamentparrot ar drone tools Poachers Kill a Rhino at French Zoo for the Hornparrot ar drone parts usa Black Ops 2 Apocalypse DLC on Xbox Aug. 27, includes zombie Originsparrot ar drone 2 deals Apocalypse is the fourth and final DLC installment for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, landing on August 27 as a timed exclusive on Xbox 360. Apocalypse includes four multiplayer maps and a new Zombies mode, Origins, which Treyarch teased in a video yesterday.

Origins stars the four original heroes from the first-ever Zombies map – Tank, Nikolai, Takeo, and Rictofen – as they gallivant in a dieselpunk, World War I-era France that's been overrun with the undead. As the title suggests, Origins will explore the beginning of the Zombies storyline and features "a period-specific arsenal," including Wonder Weapons that harness supernatural powers. Just like the ones Pershing used. The mech we spotted in yesterday's Origins video is a 1,000 foot robot that players must evade, along with all the zombie hordes. The multiplayer maps in Apocalypse are Pod, a failed utopian community from the 70s, Frost, a wintry European city, Takeoff, a small launch site in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and Dig, and adaptation of the Courtyard map from Call of Duty: World at War. From around the web ear iconeye icontext fileRT @AFCareers: Civilian developmental education window is open thru May 1 https://t.co/hg7v68iKGc #AFPC #AFPC_ForceDevelopment https://t.co…

On this day in #AirForce #History https://t.co/g4l51b5Aua King 52, the first #HC130 designed for #AirForce rescue, retires after 50 years of faithful service @45thSpaceWing… https://t.co/ARETYOX0yt Rock to Recovery serves as ‘musical medicine’ to many, including #WoundedWarriors. #Airmen & #Marines hone tactical recovery skills. Japanese soldiers partner with #USAF #Airmen & @USNavy #Sailors to improve communications. From flights over the Soviet Union in the late 1950s to surveilling the fight ag... RT @TeamEglin: More #Warthog brrrtttttttttt & the @USNavy MH-60R Seahawks #helicopter at #TeamEglin #A10 #AirForce #Navy #Exercise https:/… RT @TeamFairchild: Check out Team Fairchild's 75 years of heritage and partnership. On this day in #AirForce #History https://t.co/OyxxNs0mS8 #Yokota welcomes first C-130J Super Hercules @PACAF. #Airmen of the 407th Air Expeditionary Group ensure aircrews take off without delay, provide vital ground support.… https://t.co/Jb1ieNr0Wd

We are back at it today with more ‘Know Your #AirCraft.’ This time it’s the #F35... #Airmen at Barksdale AFB, La. hone #aircraft quick regeneration skills. #KC135s aid in training & refueling of @USNavy Super Hornets & Growlers on the USS Carl Vinson.… https://t.co/4i7C7VfoH2 RT @USAFHealth: Learn ways you can stay safe, recognize signs of #BrainInjury in yourself and others, and who you can go to for help. From helmets to harnesses, G suits and parachutes, aircrew techs ensure a successful and safe flight. Today, and every day, #AirPower is a game changer. We cannot win without it. RT @AirMobilityCmd: A MC-130J Commando II receives fuel from a #KC135 during @USSOCOM exercise #EmeraldWarrior17 at @Hurlburt_Field, Florid… RT @SportsCenter: Middle Tennessee's Reggie Upshaw got a senior night surprise from his brother Gage, a cadet at the Air Force Academy.http… RT @GenDaveGoldfein: We must systematically develop our #Airmen to continue to serve in joint positions & to be leaders in the joint fight.…

Tech. Sgt. Rainier Howard, 374th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, perfo... On this day in #AirForce #History https://t.co/GVEhVz6mnm What’s your favorite healthy snack? We can finally put the #Oscar2017 confusion to rest! It wasn’t La La Land or Moo... “Everybody on the flight line plays a big ole role” – SrA Hunter Reynolds. It's #AirForce #WeekInPhotos time! Acting #SecAF Lisa Disbrow just released this great 70th #AFbday video at #AWS17... Watch LIVE: In just a few minutes, Acting Secretary of the Air Force Lisa S. Dis... No one does it better than our #Airmen and no one ever will. This year’s Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium starts today! We have decided to do a seven-day ‘Know Your #Aircraft series. Each weekday at 7... Another successful launch at 30th Space Wing (Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.) Emerald Warrior boasts 10 years this year as military partners come together for... Initial success or total failure, it’s not just an Explosive Ordnance Disposal m...