Like every year, there’s always the anticipation from fans waiting for the nextCall of Dutygame. There’ve been rumors and leaks swirling about 2020’sCall of Duty, ranging from anotherBlack Opstitle to a Vietnam-centered war story. Typically in the middle of the year is when the next game is unveiled to fans, but for a variety of reasons, 2020 has been a very different year for video games in general. But forCall of Duty: Modern Warfare, this extended wait has been very beneficial to the life of the most recentCall of Dutygame.
Ever since October of last year,Call of Duty: Modern Warfarehas carried the franchise’s typical release momentum much further than any previous entry has had the opportunity to.Modern WarfareandWarzonehave seen an immense and continual popularity over the course of the last eight months, prolonged by the lack of news on this year’s annual release.Modern Warfarerelishes the time it continues to hold the spotlight until the nextCall of Dutygame is unveiled.
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Seasons of Modern Warfare
Bringing continual updates and a wealth of seasonal content toModern Warfarehas granted the game an extended life cycle. As recent as April of 2020,Call of Duty: Modern Warfarecontinues to top sales chartsaround the world. Part of that has to due with the consistent seasonal updates and balance changes applied to the game over time. While it garnered some ire initially for being a battle pass system in a full price/non-free-to-play title, consistent cosmetic updates have for the most part been a positive addition forCall of Dutyfans. Popular and reimagined characters from classic games, as well as new operators, have added distinct flair for players to use in-game. There’s also the weapon skins and trinkets, while on occasion have had their own respective issues, also allow players to customize more.
Customization and player flair aside,Modern Warfarehas had several balance changes and additional content added to the game as well. Weapons likethe GRAU 5.56have proven to be incredibly powerful additions toModern Warfare, even meta-breaking in some cases. But theCall of Dutydevelopment team continues to deliver balance updates to the game in response to feedback from fans and professional players alike. Not only that, but new maps and modes are constantly rotated through the core multiplayer playlists, as well as some additional unique side-modes like One in the Chamber.
Warzone’s Battle Royale Craze
There’s also the standaloneWarzonebattle royale that came out not too long ago. Ever Since then,Warzonehas quite literally exploded in popularity and continues to boast consistently huge player counts and viewers on Twitch, even moving into the game’s fourth season of content in June. WhileBlack Ops 4’s battle royaleBlackouthad a solid following from fans,Warzonehas seemingly completely eclipsedCall of Duty’s previous efforts in battle royale.
Warzonein particular surpassedBlackoutbecause of its distinct features that became unique for the genre. Adding a second chance mechanic in the form of the Gulag added an element of skill-based respawning that was both distinctive and reminiscent of standardCall of Dutymultiplayer. Adding Cash and the Buy Stations with the litany of power-ups, air strikes, armor, and abilities players could acquire added to the depth and complexity ofWarzonefar beyondBlackoutever could. Plus with the familiarity ofCall of Dutyto all shooter fans, the barrier of entry was low despite having a relatively high skill ceiling, at least forCall of Dutystandards.
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2020’s Call of Duty Could Be a Momentum Killer
Regardless of how wellModern Warfarehas performed since its release,Call of Duty’s next annual release is on the way. Even though the reveal may be a bit more delayed than previous years,2020’s iteration ofCall of Dutyis almost certainly on track for release this fall. Especially with the start of a new console generation beginning in 2020, Activision wouldn’t want to miss the chance to once again kick off a new generation with another mainlineCall of Dutytitle. While it’s great thatCall of Dutywants to keep the ball rolling on annual releases, 2020’s release would be a serious momentum killer forCall of Duty: Modern WarfareandWarzone.
WarzoneandModern Warfarepaired together in the last eight months has easily been one of the most successful times inCall of Duty’s history. Just moving on to 2020’sCall of Dutywouldn’t be fair to theModern Warfare/Warzoneplayerbasethat’s come to love both the standard multiplayer and battle royale. Any gripes with the latest season or whatever’s currently unbalanced in the meta doesn’t cheapen the fact that fans have grown to love this latestCall of Dutyjust as much as theBlack Opsfranchise has soared in popularity in recent years. In the past, now would be around the time that average players would either be easing themselves out of this year’sCall of Dutyand moving on.
The franchise is definitely at a peak moment, andModern WarfareandWarzonefans are relishing the time in the spotlightmore so than any other annual release has done previously. As long as content updates keep coming for both, it’s hard to imagine fans would complain if the nextCall of Dutyis delayed or releases later than usual. It’s also not hard to imagine that many players will begin to abandonModern Warfareonce 2020’s release starts taking the spotlight.
Call of Duty: Modern WarfareandWarzoneare available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
