Kit Harington
Kit Harington says he was excited about playing a villain in the upcoming Call of Duty Infinite Warfare, saying he never played a villain before. Screenshot from Activision's behind-the-scenes Call of Duty trailer

Activision has released a new teaser for its upcoming futuristic FPS, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, starring Game of Thrones star Kit Harington as he delves into his new dark role playing the game's main "face of the enemy." In an "epic showdown between good and evil," Harington plays the villain Admiral Salen Koch, leader of the Settlement Defense Front – an antagonistic militant faction set on destroying Earth.

For Harington, getting involved with the Call of Duty series, which he calls the "biggest video game franchise ever," was a "no-brainer".

"I'm personally a bit of a space freak, so this game being set in space is just a brilliant step for the game," Harington said in the video. "What excited me about it was it was a villain. I've never played a villain before."

He also adds that like many other great villains, Admiral Koch is "psychotic and unpredictable," which he says presented a "really interesting challenge" that he enjoyed taking on.

"My take on Admiral Kotch is that he has an element of the dictator about him," he explains. "He's an invading commander, he's someone who wants to control a whole race of people and he feels that he's entitled to do that.

"He's also not afraid of death. That makes him incredibly terrifying. But I think what was great with Salen Kotch is that he's a madman. I found that very fun to play."

Last month, Activision released a sneak peak of the HBO actor in a motion capture rig – a process that Harington says felt "quite theatrical" and something that he would "definitely, definitely do again".

"Kit is an amazing talent, and the consummate pro," Taylor Kurosaki, the game's narrative director, said in an earlier statement. "Our story is about an epic showdown of opposing forces, and Kit immersed himself into the role and truly became the embodiment of the enemy, the Settlement Defense Front. We can't wait for fans to see Kit play an entirely different kind of character."

Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie, who also previously worked on a live-action trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, also worked with Harington to bring his new, darker Infinite Warfare character to life.

Harington is the latest actor to join the star-studded franchise that has featured House of Cards' Kevin Spacey, Law & Order actor Christopher Meloni, Jeff Goldblum and John Malkovich in previous games.

While many fans have slammed the latest Call of Duty title's futuristic setting in space, developer Infinity Warfare has maintained that their venture into a "bold new setting" will be unlike anything gamers and fans have ever seen or experienced before.

"Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will take players on an unforgettable journey as they engage in heroic battles on Earth and beyond our atmosphere against the relentless enemy group that threatens our ideals and way of life," design director Jacob Minkoff said in the recently released Infinite Warfare "Black Sky" gameplay trailer.

"This is a classic story of good versus evil with large scale war, visceral combat and all new gameplay experiences afforded by expanding the scope of action into the vastness of space."

Call of Duty Infinite Warfare is set to release on 4 November.