Infinity Ward has released a skin in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with a face that will be very familiar to fans of horror and action films. The new Call of Duty operator cosmetic, titled "The Outrider," pays homage to one of sci-fi's greatest leading ladies.
Celebrity skins are hardly a video game novelty in 2020, and Modern Warfare is full of classic movie references, but famous female skins are still something of a rarity. There might be no better fit for the role than Ellen Ripley, the famous "final girl" from Ridley Scott's groundbreaking sci-fi horror movie, Alien, and its sequels.
Portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, Ripley evolves over the course of the franchise from a harrowed victim into one of the most capable and iconic action stars in cinema, holding her own against murderous xenomorphs alongside colonial marines, making her a perfect addition to the battlefield.
The legendary skin for the coalition operator, Charly, recreates Sigourney Weaver's appearance from Alien with excellent accuracy. The Outrider is part of the Earth Expeditionary Force bundle, which also includes the legendary Colonial Standard LMG, which appears to be modeled closely after the rifles Ripley and the colonial marines use in Aliens.
Four other epic items, including a watch, a charm, a calling card, and an emblem round out the bundle for 1,600 CP. Like all Modern Warfare skins, The Outrider is purely cosmetic, though time will tell if Ripley provides unanticipated advantages, like the bug that gave Call of Duty: Warzone's Wendigo skin an invisible smoke trail.
This isn't the first time Ripley has graced the cast of a video game, however. Mortal Kombat 11 added an Ellen Ripley skin for Jacqui Briggs in May. Before that, Mortal Kombat X added the eponymous alien xenomorph to the roster as an original fighter.
Despite this recent streak of cameo work, the Alien franchise as a whole has been caught in a long video game drought. The Disney-Fox merger canceled two Alien video games, including a title to be helmed by Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski. The premise of the unreleased title retconned the events of Alien 3, putting players in the role of Newt, the young girl from Aliens, with Ripley providing guidance as she does battle against aliens.
The last landmark title to be released in the franchise was Alien: Isolation, a horror title where players stepped into the shoes of Ellen Ripley's daughter, Amanda. Unlike most Alien games, which highlight firefights between marines and xenomorphs, Isolation is a survival-horror title through-and-through, with a heavy emphasis on stealth mechanics. Isolation also happened to be one of the best horror games featuring a female protagonist to be released in the 2010s.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the Outrider skin are available now for PS4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.