Kratos’ voice actor Christopher Judge has p*ssed off the Call of Duty team, after he roasted Modern Warfare 3’s campaign prior to presenting the Best Performance award at this year’s The Game Awards. The actor – who infamously rambled for several minutes when he grabbed a gong last year – said: “Fun fact, my speech was actually longer than this year’s Call of Duty campaign.”

The latest from Sledgehammer Games has attracted strong criticism for its half-baked single player mode and recycled multiplayer maps. In our Modern Warfare 3 PS5 review, we described it as a “truly anaemic” release. “A franchise in serious need of a complete reboot, Modern Warfare 3 has to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” we said.

But some of the game’s developers have hit back at Judge’s comments. “Honestly, as Call of Duty developers, we’ve heard way worse,” admitted Sledgehammer Games’ Darcy Sandall. “But we don’t expect it from a peer, at an event that supposed to be celebrating this year’s achievements in gaming. Especially with all the information that was leaked about its development.”

Ajinkya Limaye, a former Infinity Ward employee who now works at Bungie, was even more pointed: “Funny,” he said in a Twitter post that’s since been deleted. “But yeah, the metrics that Call of Duty absolutely destroys all of the God of War games (probably combined to be honest) is also equally laughable (if not more).” He went on to explain that he intended “no hate” to God of War.

So yeah, a harmless gag has clearly ruffled a few feathers here. It’s worth noting that the latest Call of Duty was developed in a shorter than usual timeframe, as Activision pivoted from what was intended as DLC to a full-blown release. Obviously this decision turned out to be an error from management, and it’s paid the price with poor reviews.