This year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is looking to the past to move the franchise forward. In addition to the Modern Warfare brand making a return, players will also be fighting alongside Captain Price in a re-imagining of the classic series. With an added focus on realism and intense moments, the campaign is inspired by the controversial No Russian mission from Modern Warfare 2. While that particular mission divided fans and the media, what people didn't know at the time is that it also divided Infinity Ward.
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 mission itself puts the player in the shoes of an undercover CIA agent attempting to infiltrate a Russian terror group. Unfortunately, part of that process forces the player to take part in a mass killing, shooting innocent civilians at an airport. While fans and the media questioned whether it was truly necessary to the overall plot, the mission also had the same effect on developers at the studio.
Some felt that the mission would work better if the player was playing the mission from the perspective of a security guard caught in the middle of the gun fight, while the other side liked the direction the mission was going, being part of the main terrorist group. However, one prevailing thought was to push it further with more gore. The decision fell to Art Director Joel Emslie, who is actually back at Infinity Ward working on this latest game. Back then, his original thought was it wasn't necessary to get the point across. However, after showing the mission to his wife, she pushed him to add more blood and guts to really make an impression.
Others at the studio were trying to reduce the impact of the mission for players who may have felt the mission was going too far. Former Infinity Ward designer Mohammad Alavi revealed that the massacre originally ended once the player killed the group of NPCs right outside of the elevator before moving into a more traditional firefight. However, this ultimately felt too gimmicky and shying away from doing something truly uncomfortable for the player.
While No Russian may have been the only controversial aspect to Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward is promising that the 2019 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare won't have just one or two controversial moments. As the developer has been teasing since the games initial reveal, the entire game is filled with morally gray moments and topics of discussion. In fact, narrative director Taylor Kurosaki has already hinted at a mission involving child soldiers where players step into the shoes of Farrah, who witnesses Russian soldiers murdering civilians. She starts fighting back against them and has to brutally murder them.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will launch on October 25 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Game Informer