What went wrong?

focused too much on shitting out a game each year instead of giving updates to old games, which would give the same effect

You

So called AAA-Publishers starting collapsing in on themselves and needing ever more perversed marketing and monetization strategies to delay their innvetible death.

>>384345298
updates don't make people pay $60!

>>384344895
Activision fucked over West and Zampella.
Think about it, imagine if Titanfall was released instead of Ghosts/ Advanced Warfare. Titanfall is mechanically a much better game than post MW2 Infinity Ward Call of Duty's.