As fans of the prolific first-person shooter series Call of Duty await the latest release in the series, new details have been released regarding the release date of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. This 2016 title will be an incredibly important one for Activision as always, and it seems that we can expect Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare to release on November 4.
Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare – Christmas market
This would be a natural release date for the title ahead of the ever important Christmas marketplace, and would also be consistent with previous releases in the series. The source of this information has been an online link which presented an apparent advertising poster for the game bearing the November 4, 2016 release date. Information backing up this suggestion has also been acquired from the PlayStation Store, and it thus seems certain that we can expect the latest Call of Duty game in November 2016.
Inquisitive fans also confirmed the existence of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare by browsing the trending section of the PlayStation Store on the PlayStation 4. This area contains a link to the forthcoming AAA game, although selecting the new option doesn’t provide any valid information, simply accessing a placeholder instead.
There is huge anticipation for what is effectively the thirteenth release in the Call of Duty series, particularly as the reception for Call of Duty: Black Ops III was less than stellar. Although this was a solid game, that was certainly not panned by either critics or consumers, and remains hugely popular on the PlayStation Online and Xbox Live services, the fact remains that it was somewhat underwhelming. Activision clearly needs to produce a more innovative and jaw-dropping title when the new game Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is released.
Future setting
Another rumor related to this FPS suggests that Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will have a science-fiction setting probably in the future. Certainly the Call of Duty series has mined every conceivable aspect of even relatively contemporary warfare in order to deliver exciting action over the years, and it does seem natural in many ways to deliver a future setting with the next game in the series.
An apparently leaked image from the game seems to feature an alien style spaceship in the background, with a protagonist holding some form of sophisticated, futuristic flight helmet. Although the Call of Duty games in recent years have been somewhat speculative in nature, it is increasingly being suggested that the next game will be set many centuries into the future, and will feature the outer space combat and intergalactic space marines.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III received an array of markings in the 70-80% ballpark when it was released, and thus Activision will be hoping to improve on this critical reception when Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare hits the stores. It is clear that there needs to be a significant evolution in the game if it is to not merely deliver more of the same, and thus the developers will be considering a wide variety of new features for the title.
Remaster Collection
However, one of the particular suggestions for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is that Activision could, instead of releasing a brand new game, instead remaster some of the Modern Warfare classics that are probably still the best received Call of Duty games. This may make commercial sense, as many gamers would relish the opportunity to play this trilogy on the current generation PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, particularly if the title was remastered with the quality that Naughty Dog achieved with The Last of Us just a couple of years ago.
In addition, this could prove to be an affordable way for Activision to break into the next generation PlayStation 4.5 marketplace, with rumors suggesting that Microsoft could consider releasing a similarly updated console in 2016 as well. But it must be said that this would also not obviously fit in with the general ethos of Activision, and that an entirely new title is surely more likely.
Space dangers
The danger of producing an entirely space-based title for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is that it may alienate existing fans of the series. Call of Duty has always been relatively grounded, even if recent titles have departed from this notion somewhat, and there are already plenty of science-fiction based shooters available on the market. Does Activision really need to produce yet another space-based game, and will this really satisfy existing fans of the series? Both are highly debatable.
Nonetheless, the title has led many to believe that some sort of time travelling mechanism could be present in the game, and the word Infinite being utilized in the title is obviously consistent with this concept. This would be an interesting aspect of the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare title, And one that would provide the new gameplay mechanics that Activision intends to deliver every year with the Call of Duty series.
Destiny similarities
Destiny has established itself as a massively successful game, and there have also been suggestions that Call of Duty could follow in the footsteps of this title and blend its PvE /co-op and PvP elements together In a similar fashion. Again, this would mesh with the Infinite title that Activision will apparently use, and would also deliver the sort of addictive RPG-style experience that has proved so successful for Rockstar with is GTA 5 Online title.
However, again Activision must be careful not to alienate its existing players. In many ways, Call of Duty is certainly not broken, as the title is consistently the most popular for online players on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Activision must not discard its core audience, which ultimately may not want such an involved experience. A delicate balancing act must be negotiated between delivering something genuinely new, and retaining the ethos and appeal of previous titles.
Regardless of this, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will undoubtedly be one of the biggest video games of 2016, and it seems that fans of this prolific series will have around six months to wait for its eventual release.
