Modern Warfare II will be played before launch. A shot to the foot or a master move?

There are annual sagas that have the same weight and importance as the top console sellers. Even more. Call of Duty is in that select club, and its next installment is the best example of this: the revamped COD: Modern Warfare II is a full-fledged blockbuster whose greatest claim is its online modes, but that doesn’t mean that Activision can show off through his game campaign. What’s more, this year you can play it before its release. And that, no matter how you look at it, it’s genius.

A month after the celebration of its beta, Activision has drawn up the roadmap with all the plans and key dates for the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, which includes early access to the game, trial periods and the launch of the title itself. A very interesting schedule, especially if we pre-ordered the game digitally.

Through a new preview of the campaign, as well as its official accounts, Activision has confirmed that all reservations for the digital editions of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will allow you to play the new campaign from October 20. Namely, a week before the release of the game itself. A very interesting way both to warm up the atmosphere and to encourage advance purchase for fans. But the thing does not end there.

Why is Activision moving up the Modern Warfare II campaign?

Being able to play the campaign before the release of Modern Warfare II It is a master move, especially in the face of veterans of the series. And we are not referring to those who started playing on PS2 without internet, but precisely to that enormous number of fans who return every year to focus almost exclusively on its multiplayer.

As we could see in iGamesNews, in previous editions of Call of Duty It has been seen that there is a very significant proportion of players who do not finish the game campaign or They don’t even start it. A lack of interest in her? Rather, because they focus specifically on the online experience. A competitive nuance whose gunplay evolves from game to game and where nobody wants to be left behind.

And be careful, as you can read in our Call of Duty Vanguard analysis, the campaign is one of the best in the game.

Needless to say, campaigning for Call of Duty It is not exactly cheap: the design of a plot, the production at a cinematographic level and the creation of scenarios capable of transmitting the emotion that a war saga requires experienced in the first person. If we add to this that Activision puts practically all of its studios to work on each annual installment, we find that a lot of time, work and resources are invested in a way that, whether we like it or not, is not the priority for the bulk of the fans.

From here a subsection: Activision has released several deliveries without a game campaign, and despite the fact that there were reactions against it, sales have continued to play in its favor. The most criticized installments of the saga, that there have been, have more to do with the setting or the gaming experience than with the theme or content single-player.

And we are not going to deny it, despite the fact that the duration of the new Campaigns Call of Duty it cannot be compared to that of other FPS focused on the individual experience or to those of the classic installments; what really keeps the saga alive and each installment until the appearance of its replacement are multiplayer modes.

A brilliant way to secure reservations at a very sensitive time

From here, two points that deserve to be weighed separately and together:

If we add these two concepts and add the arrival of specially anticipated releases for the second half of the year, including God of War Ragnarok or The Callisto Protocol that will be signed by veterans of the saga (and those responsible for the original Dead Space), the priority is to ensure saless through digital game reservations and avoid cancellations at the last minute.

And definitely offering full access to the campaign is much more attractive than game betas.

Here it is time to talk about the choice of digital format, who will also benefit from access to the proposed and held betas. And, in this aspect, it is time to add a third element to the equation:the intention of the general public to make the generational leap on consoles.

It is much easier to get hold of a PS5 and an Xbox Series X today than it was a couple of years ago. It is true that the conditions vary and that the sales of packs with extras represent an additional barrier in the case of Sony consoles, but in the face of this there is a double unfavorable situation for Activision:

• As Sony itself admitted, Call of Duty It is a saga capable of conditioning the acquisition of a new console, so it is very likely that the launch sales of the new game will suffer due to this factor in the face of brand new Xbox or PS5. Although, as we will see, cross-play is a reality and Sony continues to have early access to content. At least for now.
• On the other hand, acquire a copy for a generation on the eve of making the generational leap. Something that has been fought since Activision offering multi-generational batches that, by the way, they cost the traditional 80 dollars of the annual blockbusters for the new generation systems.

Not all are elements against. As we mentioned, the saga Call of Duty It sweeps sales -despite not matching its best period- and, as we mentioned, its brutal positioning towards cross-play plays very much in its favor.

So the possibility of accessing the campaign in advance if we opt for digital is a very powerful claim to finish convincing undecided and, in the process, give more visibility and strength to what, for all intents and purposes, and despite being noticeably overshadowed by multiplayer, is one of the greatest strengths of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare II and the challenge of overcoming the 2009 game (and its remaster)

With the cards on the table, it’s time to tackle the next big challenge: matching the weight and impact of the campaign Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, the 2009 game that, by the way, was remastered without multiplayer very recently. A plot that, inevitably, was as groundbreaking as it was shaken by controversy.

The new Call of Duty Modern Warfare II It has several advantages, including greater ambition, the new engine and the academic freedom of being the direct sequel to 2019’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare. Retaining classic characters and introducing new elements. Proof of this is that Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley, Captain John Price, Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick and the rest of the one-four-one have been joined by a new member by the name of Alexander Vargas.

For all intents and purposes, one week early access to the Call of Duty Modern Warfare II will allow many who had not finished or played a campaign for years Call of Duty rediscover the single-player experience and let others who haven’t touched it give it a try. But it will also force Activision to live up to one of the most iconic and remembered campaigns of the entire saga. A double-edged sword, yes, but in which they can only win.

All in all, it is still curious that a year after Halo Infinite advance its multiplayer to serve as a hook for its Story mode, Activision itself (which will be integrated into Xbox Game Studios in 2023) perform the complete opposite movement.

How will the thing end? For now, what we know are the dates that are on the table: Call of Duty Modern Warfare II will be available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC via Steam and Battle.net starting next October 28. The first online betas will be held from mid-September and its campaign will begin to play from October 20.