When it hit store shelves in 2009, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 grossed $310 million on its first day. It topped over $1 billion after only two months. The game’s developer, Infinity Ward, then shattered its own record with the 2011 sequel: Modern Warfare 3, which went from raking in $400 million on day one to hitting the $1 billion mark within just 16 days.
To put this in perspective, Modern Warfare 3’s sales on its first day almost doubled what The Avengers earned during its entire three-day opening weekend. The Modern Warfare series is a sales behemoth, an unstoppable juggernaut for this generation, setting the standard not only for video gaming but for the entertainment industry as a whole.
When will we see Modern Warfare 4? We won’t. According to a press release last week from Activision – the powerhouse publisher of the Modern Warfare series as well as a little game called World of Warcraft – the next Call of Duty (COD) game, called Call of Duty: Ghosts is set for release Nov. 5, and will be something altogether new.
“Ghosts delivers an all-new story, all-new characters, an all-new Call of Duty world,” revealed Activision Publishing’s CEO Eric Hirshberg, “all powered by a next generation Call of Duty engine, which is a leap forward for the franchise.” As refreshing as the prospect is, as prophetically powerful as it is to hear the magic words “all-new” and “next generation engine” used in the same sentence, specific game details in the press release are elusive.
The teaser trailer is equally elusive. A series of live-action historical warriors from various cultures in masks is combined with a shadowy shot of a six-man team donning modern firearms. No in-game shots. No storyline revealed. Looks like Infinity Ward is going with the “less is more” model for a trailer. And it’ll work, not only because of the sheer momentum of the annually-released Call of Duty franchise, but because this next Call of Duty has a whole new generation waiting to be ushered in.
That’s right, both Activision and Infinity Ward have no problem boasting of the way Ghosts will bridge the gap between this generation and the next.
"We saw the console transition as the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter for Call of Duty,” said Mark Rubin, executive producer at Infinity Ward. “So we're building a new sub-brand, a new engine, and a lot of new ideas and experiences for our players.” If there’s any game that can unite the new consoles, it’s COD.
The Call of Duty: Ghosts that will be released in November will be a version built for our current generation (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC) but we’ll have to wait for the release of the next-gen consoles. Whether the Nintendo Wii U will be included remains to be seen. "We don't have any news for the Wii U at this time,” Activision stated in a subsequent press release, “as we aren't dating next generation platforms yet. Stay tuned.”
And stay tuned we shall. More details on Ghosts are expected to be released on May 21st at Microsoft’s Xbox event. This is also when, it is hoped, Microsoft will unveil its next-gen console, just squeaking ahead of Sony’s rumoured update on a release date for the PlayStation 4 at E3 2013 in June. The new consoles are poised to hit story shelves Holiday 2013, with Call of Duty: Ghosts as a monster of a launch title.
