The new Call of Duty game is aiming for a lot of new things. There is the spanking new engine, that you can read all about here, but also the tone and type of storytelling the game is said to be looking to deploy. But why the change? Well, in general, storytelling and writing have become darker and more gritty in nature (this is something that extends well beyond games). Is this maybe a push from up top to get with the times and create some controversy? Some have said yes, but Infinity Ward has pushed back to say no.
Ex-Sledgehammer Games studio head Michael Condry fueled a lot of the speculation when he gave an interview with GamesBeat with the claim that Activision was pushing Infinity Ward to add ‘controversial’ and ‘darker’ elements to the game for marketing. But Infinity Ward posted on their official Twitter that they were very much making the game they wanted to make. While no person or reports are specified, it’s obvious due to the timing it’s aimed at those reports.
Regardless, storytelling with a more grounded and ‘realistic’ flavor is becoming much more the norm in mainstream entertainment, so the course for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare would probaly be the same either way when all is said and done. And we’ll get to see how it turns out when the game releases October 25th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.