Call of Duty Ghosts Wii U Release

Although many of the high profile titles releasing this Fall are skipping the Wii U, one surefire hit, Call of Duty: Ghosts, is not. Today, Activision revealed their upcoming slate for Nintendo's new system, and confirmed that Ghosts will be available at launch.

In addition to Call of Duty: Ghosts, Activision also confirmed several more family friendly titles for the Wii U including Skylanders SWAP Force, Angry Birds Trilogy, Angry Birds Star Wars, a Spongebob SquarePants game, and Wipeout Create & Crash. But really the main focus is Call of Duty: Ghosts, which has the potential to set itself apart from the pack on the Wii U.

As some may know, Electronic Arts has ignored the Wii U as of late, and they have no plans to release their flagship title, Battlefield 4, on the console. That leaves Call of Duty: Ghosts free to assert itself as the de facto FPS on the Wii U. Granted, the install base for the Wii U is much smaller than on the Xbox 360 or PS3, but with fewer competitors Ghosts has a better chance at success.

This is a major turning point for the Call of Duty franchise, as Infinity Ward moves away from the Modern Warfare brand. Yes, the game is still Call of Duty at its core — or at least that's the impression we got from our E3 2013 preview — but with a few caveats. Not to mention we haven't heard a peep about the game's multiplayer, which will reportedly get the full reveal treatment some time next month.

Call of Duty Ghosts New Graphics Engine

As far as Wii U-specific features are concerned, Activision wouldn't say much, except that Call of Duty: Ghosts will use both the Wii-mote and the Wii U gamepad. Last years, COD release, Black Ops 2, didn't make terribly great use of the gamepad, so here's hoping Ghosts does better. The publisher also teased more unique features are in development for the Wii U version, but they did not provide any concrete details.

This fall will be a major test for the Wii U, as next-gen titles start hitting Nintendo's platform. Gamers will finally be able to see how powerful the Wii U hardware is, and how it compares to the likes of the PS4 and the Xbox One.

Will you be picking up Call of Duty: Ghosts on the Wii U? How would you like to see Infinity Ward use the gamepad?

Call of Duty: Ghosts releases November 5, 2013 for the PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and Wii U. PS4 and Xbox One dates have not been announced.