Ask Paul: November 19 (Premium)

Happy Friday! Here’s another great collection of reader questions to get the weekend started a bit early.
COD DOA?
christianwilson asks:

Something is wrong with Call of Duty. You have expressed disappointment with the series in recent years and the sentiment I hear from others online echos what you've been saying. There seems to be a collective "meh" surrounding Vanguard.

Yeah. And understandably. After trying for years, unsuccessfully, to start new franchises, Call of Duty has settled into a predictable rhythm in which each game is either part of the Modern Warfare, Black Ops, or World War II series. It’s the only thing that’s worked for them.

This is a series that has been released annually for nearly two decades. I know Activision won't do this for all of the obvious business reasons, but from a creative standpoint, do you think Call of Duty needs to go away for a few years and come back refreshed? Are they out of ideas? Are players getting tired of the formula? Or is there a different problem that needs to be addressed?

Yeah, I do think they need to make some changes. And I think their recent experiences, with COD: Mobile, Warzone, and the general failure of the single-player experiences when they’re even available, point the way. What Call of Duty needs is less Call of Duty. This could take various forms, but it’s not hard to imagine forgoing a big bang release every year in favor of Warzone updates. Or just accepting that COD Multiplayer is its own thing, like Warzone, that could exist outside of whatever annual/semi-annual release they do. That is, this notion of seasons is one that could extend beyond Warzone to Multiplayer.

I’ve said this before, but all I really want from Call of Duty is new multiplayer levels. And that what they should make is an annual $60 subscription to something called Call of Duty Online that would ship with the best classic maps from every COD game over the years but updated with the latest graphics technology and then continually add new and classic maps over time. It should have all of the game types, weapons, perks, etc. from all of the games, and let you play in customizable playlists. So WWII fans could have playlists of just WWII maps, load-outs, and perks (or whatever). Modern Warfare fans, ditto. There could be crazy playlists that mix and match. It’s endless.

Anyway, that’s my idea. Whether they actually come out with a new game each year kind of doesn’t even matter to me.

As for Vanguard, I’m happy it doesn’t have the same lag/latency issues that made the new MW and BO: Cold War multiplayer experiences unplayable to me. But it’s the blandest looking COD ever, it looks like a previous-generation title. And the levels are just boring and all very similar. I don’t mind the WWII bit, and I may still play through single-player when I get bored. But I spend all my time in multiplayer, and this isn’t doing it. I hope Activision at least releases COD: MW...