Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is looking to bring back fans of the sub-franchise and also give diehard players a reason to be excited about the 2019 entry. Activision Blizzard hasn't made great decisions in the last couple of years, but despite that, the Call of Duty series continues to dominate the sales charts year in and year out.
Whether you love it or hate it, it's hard to deny how successful it's been. Let's now take a look at 5 reasons why Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will succeed and 5 reasons why it might not do so after all.
10 Won't: The Blizzard Issue
If you've turned a blind eye to any video game coverage then you're likely unfamiliar with the situation Activision Blizzard has put themselves in. Whether on purpose or accident they recently made some disciplinary decisions in favor of the Chinese government.
It revolves around the Hong Kong protests and if you'd like to know more about it there are plenty of sources covering it in-depth. The fallout from one side of their company could affect how consumers decide to spend their money in the coming months and years.
9 Will: Eliminates Pay-To-Win
Recently there were supposed leaks revealing that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare would see the return of guns in crates that players could buy via in-game microtransactions. This caused an uproar deservedly from the community and sparked a movement to boycott the game over it.
Since then developers have reassured fans that those things wouldn't be in the game as Activision promised to take a second look at the microtransactions in the game. If they simply stick to their word they could avoid tons of unnecessary backlash.
8 Won't: Empty Violence
With this new entry in the Modern Warfare series, Infinity Ward looks to be taking the single-player campaign to a new level of story-telling and stakes. Preview coverage for the game has sparked conversations about the violence and brutality used and whether or not it's being handled and approached in the right way.
Developers on the game have reiterated that they're looking to over a gritty and visceral experience. If it misses the mark and is received as an empty vessel of violence, it could spell disaster.
7 Will: Little Competition
In recent weeks it was announced that the highly anticipated follow-up to 2016's Doom reboot, Doom: Eternal would be delayed until early 2020. With this and the absence of other quality first-person shooters this holiday season it seems like Call of Duty is primed to fly off the shelves for yet another year.
Its only real direct competitor left is Ghost Recon: Breakpoint which was highly anticipated but seems to have missed the mark with critics and fans alike. It seems like Jon Bernthal can only do so much.
6 Won't: Bad Reviews
Every year a new Call of Duty hits physical and digital store shelves and every year it reviews between an 8 and a 9 overall when everything's averaged. The games in the series are rarely bad, but they're also rarely great.
If the game comes out of the gate to poor or mediocre reviews there's a solid chance it can affect sales. The reality, however, is that the series could see marginal sales declines over the years and still be one of, if not the, best selling game every single year.
5 Will: Killstreaks Over Scorestreaks
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will see the return of killstreak rewards which offer players a reward in return for stringing together multiple kills without dying. In recent years the series has had an emphasis on scorestreaks which was a system that could be manipulated and taken advantage of.
Players felt for a long time that it took away from the core of what made Call of Duty so popular. The Modern Warfare series was known for the simplistic killstreak system and the 2019 soft reboot looks to emulate that.
4 Won't: Lack Of Support
This is very unlikely to happen as Activision sees Call of Duty as its breadwinner and has shown that it supports the annual releases at least up until the release of the next one. In 2019 it's paramount for multiplayer-focused games to have a smart and executable post-release content schedule.
Players need to know that they're investing in something that's looking to be around for a good while. Fans hope Activision doesn't pull their recent stunt of cramming microtransactions into the game a month after release.
3 Will: People Miss Modern Warfare
Despite Modern Warfare 3 missing the mark in comparison to its predecessors, fans have been clamoring for a return to that mythology in the series. Though many of the leaders who crafted it into what people loved have left it seems that what's left of the old guard at Infinity Ward is looking to capture that familiar feel.
A glance at social media will show that lapsed Call of Duty players are eyeing a potential return in 2019 simply due to their favorite sub-franchise is making a return.
2 Won't: Pay-To-Win
In recent years fans and critics alike have become infuriated by the implementation of certain microtransactions in Call of Duty. Outside of the normal cosmetic skins and such, the games began to include crates with guns inside them.
This means that players who spent real money could get a real in-game advantage over those who never spent a dime. This pay-to-win approach may be profitable in the short term but it's a guaranteed way to alienate your player base and turn off potential customers.
1 Will: It's Call Of Duty
Whether you've liked the franchise or not, there's one absolute in the video game industry the last decade-plus and that's Call of Duty. The series releases a new entry every year and it manages to come in as the best selling game of the year almost every year.
The craziest thing is that if the franchise saw a decline in sales it would still likely sell incredible numbers considering just how well it performs overall in comparison to other games. It often doesn't matter how good or bad it reviews, which is pretty impressive.