There was a time when Call of Duty was one of the most inescapable franchises in the world. Peaking in popularity with the Modern Warfare series, especially Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty was seen as the gaming industry’s signature AAA franchise. While it was eventually dethroned as the most popular AAA franchise, Call of Duty, especially the Modern Warfare subseries, is seen as a defining game series of the Xbox 360/PS3 generation.
After the Modern Warfare subseries ended with Modern Warfare 3 in 2011, the series took a number of creative risks to varying results. From going to the close and distant future to introducing classes with special abilities, to even going back the CoD’s WWII roots, the series never quite managed to recapture that Modern Warfare fervor.
Fans seemed to dislike Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in particular, as its trailer is one of the most disliked YouTube videos in history. When the original Modern Warfare designers left Infinity Ward to form Reflex (which went on to make Titanfall and Apex Legends), it seemed all hope of a new Modern Warfare was lost.
Now, it seems our prayers have been answered.
Modern Warfare is finally back with a brand new reboot. As the first new game in the series in nearly a decade, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has plenty of expectations to shoulder. Based on all of the news we’ve seen so far, they’re headed in the right direction.
According to prerelease material, the series is placing a greater emphasis on morally gray politically-relevant conflicts this time, aiming to showcase the horrors of the modern world and the powers that be. While specific details have been scarce, it has been reported that certain campaign scenes have been so emotionally powerful that playtesters have cried while viewing them.
The focus on tragedy and morally unsound conflict brings up memories of Modern Warfare 2’s infamous “No Russian” mission, which had the player take part in a terrorist attack on an airport. The series has mostly failed to recapture this sense of realistic shock, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can truly shock the world again. The developers have classified the story as a reboot of the Modern Warfare franchise, and staple character Captain Price returns.
Preview - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Read Now►Gameplay-wise things are shaking up as well. The release trailer has shown us that leaning out of cover has been added to the series, and developers have described the gameplay as more methodical than previous games. For the first time in years, the CoD series is getting a brand new engine, allowing for tweaked gameplay and more photorealistic visuals.
And of course, what would Call of Duty be without multiplayer? Infinity Ward has already announced two major improvements for the series moving forward. First, similar to Fortnite, Modern Warfare will be cross-compatible among gaming platforms, including console to PC. Additionally, Infinity Ward has said that the game will not feature a season pass, meaning that all downloadable content will be free moving forward. This is a huge step forward for the Call of Duty series, which has been criticized for years for its overpriced map packs that fragment the player base. Both additions cast Modern Warfare as the series’ most consumer-friendly game yet.
While details are still scarce, we’re still incredibly excited for Modern Warfare from what we’ve heard. What do you think?
