Specifically, we’re talking about a tiring of CoD’s increasingly far-flung, science fiction premise. There comes a point when every good franchise outstays its welcome, and Infinite Warfare seems to be falling victim to this phenomenon. That isn’t to say that CoD as an IP is on the way out, not at all. More that gamers are beginning to see through the thinly veiled tweaking of the CoD franchise and want a premise that refreshes the IP. It’s time for a shakeup, and even if Infinite Warfare is a great game, which it is, there’s absolutely a sense that it’s sticking too closely to the mould of previous outings.
We’ve seen this effect occur before with Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise, to the point where the latest title, Syndicate, saw a monumental drop off in popularity and sales performance. Clearly, CoD isn’t quite at that stage, such is the immense power of its brand, but there’s a definite generic feeling that has plagued the series for a few years now and it isn’t immune to the same fate. Advanced Warfare might have introduced exo suits and wall running as creative new gameplay features, but after that novelty quickly wore off, gamers were left with was a series that just didn’t feel grounded in its roots and showed no signs of altering course.
Of course, we’ve seen this happen before with both the Modern Warfare premise and the WWII premise before that. The crux of the issue is that fans want Activision to hit the reset button, to go outside their comfort zone and re-invent the franchise. The glorification of these latest sales reports are likely a combination of current CoD fans, ex-CoD fans, cynics and gamers looking for an entry point to shooters; all hoping that if Infinite Warfare really does see a noticeable drop off in sales that Activision will finally move in a new direction.
CoD is too big a franchise to fall off the radar completely, but if Activision doesn’t start listening to fans then the sales projections for the next iteration of the franchise could well see a more drastic downward swing. But you’d have to imagine they already know that – they probably have a team working on a new premise right now that removes the series from science fiction. Perhaps Modern Warfare Remastered was Activision dipping their toes into the water before returning to more conventional war simulation?
The competition between Battlefield and CoD has never been more intense, but Call of Duty fans should perhaps thank DICE for breaking the moulds of convention in following through with the WWI premise. Because as much it has made for good subject matter, it’s also gone a long way in demonstrating the importance of innovation, and demonstrating a commitment to offering new experiences, rather than rehashing old ones.
