Back in 2005, Call of Duty 2 was released to widespread acclaim. Its campaign, in particular, was highly praised for its incredible atmosphere and set pieces. The narrative of the game, while pretty simplistic by modern video game standards, was more than enough for a mid-2000s WW2 first-person shooter. But times have changed, and modern audiences want more complex and interweaving narratives, ones that aren't contained to just a short campaign mode.

With every movie studio in Hollywood trying to make their own Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would only make sense that the gaming giants would want to do the same. Starting with Fortnite, big multiplayer games began introducing seasons, where new weapons, skins, and maps would be added to the game, often accompanied by little cutscenes that would further the game's lore or story. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare did this exact thing, and left plenty of its story hidden away in multiplayer and Warzone backchannels.

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The Story So Far

The plot for 2022's Call of Duty has allegedly been leaked online.

To understand the developments to the plot made in Modern Warfare's multiplayer and Warzone seasons, it's worth having a quick refresher on the events of the game's main campaign. The game opens in Verdansk, a location many would come to be very familiar with. The central protagonist and player-character, CIA Operative Alex, is intercepted, and the shipment of lethal chemicals he was transporting is stolen. It doesn't take long before Captain Price of the SAS is recruited by the CIA to track down the chemicals.

Meanwhile, members of the terrorist group Al-Qatala stage a brutal attack on Piccadilly Circus in London, and Price and his team, containing the other player-character Kyle Garrick, are sent to deal with the situation. The trail for the chemicals leads the team to Urzikstan, where Alex teams up with the local guerrilla fighter Farah Karim, who joins up with the task force in agreeance that they'll help her overthrow the Russians in her home country if she finds the chemicals.

After a particularly brutal mission set in a London townhouse, the SAS team is sent on the hunt for a terrorist leader named "The Wolf." Over in Urzikstan, Alex and his team of US Marines capture The Wolf, which causes his partner, known as "The Butcher," to launch a counter-attack on the US Embassy in the country. In an attempt to re-capture The Wolf, Farah takes Alex to the "Highway of Death," in a very memorable sniping mission. It is then revealed that Farah's brother, Hadir, was the one who intercepted the shipment of chemicals in Verdansk. Hadir uses the chemicals to create a lethal gas, which he tests on the Al-Qatala and Russian forces in the area.

Following this mission, an extended flashback plays, showing the events of Farah and Hadir's childhood. It's revealed that Farah and Hadir were captured as children after an attempt to flee the country following its Russian invasion. The two then spent the next ten years in a Russian prison, hatching their plan to one day fight back. The flashback ends with a rescue mission, where Price breaks the two out of the Russian jail.

In the present day, Price and the team head to The Wolf's hiding place and finally manage to take him out, but as he is no longer in possession of the chemical gas, the US Government are forced to condemn Farah's guerrilla movement which causes Alex to leave the CIA and remain fighting with Farah's rebels. With little to go on themselves, Price and his team meet up with an old Russian contact, Nikolai. With his help, Price's task force manage to capture The Buther, and after a series of ruthless interrogations, he gives in and tells the team that Hadir is going after the Russian General Barkov in his own estate in Moldova.

Garrick and Price manage to intercept Hadir and learn that the Russian General has a factory which is manufacturing more lethal chemicals. All of the characters come together in the final mission to attack Barkov's chemical factory, with Alex seemingly sacrificing himself to blow up the complex. Farah cuts off Barkov's escape and kills him, before proceeding to escape with the rest of Price's team.

The closing moments of Modern Warfare's campaign sees Price creating Task Force 141, the team he lead in the original Modern Warfare games. The file seen at the end features fan-favorite characters like Ghost and Soap, along with the player-character Garrick from this game.

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Everything That Happens In Modern Warfare's Multiplayer/Warzone

Call of Duty Warzone

While most of the main plot developments do occur in Modern Warfare's subsequent multiplayer seasons, there are a few tidbits of plot information that occur in the game's underrated Special Ops mode. During the course of the mode, players team up with Kamarov of the FSB, another character lifted from the original Modern Warfare. Players, as part of a new faction called The Armistice, are tasked with taking out a number of Al-Qatala henchmen throughout Verdansk. Upon completion of the game mode, it is revealed that Zakhaev, the character whose arm the player snipes off in the original, is funding Al-Qatala, and Al-Asad is the new leader of the terrorist organization.

Returning once again to Verdansk, the subsequent seasons of Warzone and Modern Warfare multiplayer see the Coalition and Allegiance factions break their alliance as Al-Qatala forces launch a series of chemical gas attacks throughout Verdansk, causing each side to fight against one another in an attempt to evacuate the city. The brand new Task Force 141 sends in Alex (who didn't die in that factory explosion) to Verdansk to assist new member of the team Ghost.

Task Force 141 learn that Zakhaev has been sending and hiding high-value weapons in Verdansk's bunkers. Garrick and Price join Ghost and Alex in Verdansk while a new mercenary faction named Shadow Company hunts down Zakhaev. It is revealed that Zakhaev has been using a series of interconnected subway lines underneath Verdansk to move around undetected. Nikolai and Farah are sent to take control of the underground and restore the city's rail system. The Task Force learns that Zakhaev is hiding out in a nuclear bunker and intercept him, with Price shooting him into the silo below.

The last plot development found in Warzone that relates to Modern Warfare is a final radio call in which Price is asked by Soap for assistance somewhere nearby "off the coast." Fans are hoping that they haven't seen the last of Task Force 141, and with the rumor that the next Call of Duty is going to be Modern Warfare 2, that seems pretty likely.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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