A Washington think tank is recruiting the mastermind behind the best-selling "Call of Duty" video games to help policy wonks imagine future wars America may have to fight.

Dave Anthony, whose blockbuster gaming franchise has earned billions of dollars, is among a group of writers and producers enlisted by the Atlantic Council to look at how armed conflicts might evolve in the 21st century.

The initiative, "The Art of Future War Project," which launches next week, was born when a former Pentagon official, now at the Atlantic Council, found himself impressed by the story line of a video game his son was playing - "Call of Duty: Black Ops II," which depicts a cold war set in 2025 between China and the US.