It’s Official: Call of Duty to Return to its World War II Roots
- Paul Thurrott
- Apr 22, 2017
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15
The rumors are true: Call of Duty will return to its World War II roots with the next installment of this best-selling game series, called Call of Duty: WWII.
“This year, Sledgehammer Games joins the WWII ranks ofCall of Duty with Call of Duty: WWII, which will bring the series back to World War II after nearly ten years,” the Activision announcement notes. “We can’t wait to tell you more about Call of Duty: WWII, so be sure not to miss the reveal livestream at 10:00 am Pacific on April 26.”
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For those not fully immersed in the history of Call of Duty, the first three major games in the series—Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, and Call of Duty 3—were all set in World War II, as was the fifth, Call of Duty: World at War. These games were all excellent in their day, but subsequent series likeModern Warfare and Black Ops pushed Call of Duty to new heights, at least from sales and multiplayer perspectives.
More recent titles, especially last year’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, seem to have left some fans behind, however. Despite still being the best-selling game of the year, Infinite Warfare is considered a failure in the context of Call of Duty. So Activision is pushing reset. Again.
Which is sort of the issue. Over the course of several games—Call of Duty: Ghosts, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare—Activision has struggled to find the foundation for a new series that can rival Modern Warfare or Black Ops.
The thing is, World War II is not the answer.
As with last year’s blockbuster Battlefield comeback, Battlefield 1—which features a World War I setting and very strong single player campaign—Activision is not surprisingly plumbing its past, and nostalgia, in an effort to regain the support of its biggest fans. But it’s biggest fans want more Modern Warfare or Black Ops multiplayer mayhem. Not this. Not really.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m intrigued. I will happily queue up, virtually, to get this game on day one. But it’s hard to believe that WWII can be the start of a successful new series for Call of Duty.