Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare fails to excite, draws record dislikes on YouTube

By Imad Khan Published May 7, 2021

It seems that Activision’s popular shooter series Call of Duty will not be receiving the warmest reception when it releases later this year.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was announced earlier this week to tepid applause. Looking at the YouTube video for the latest reveal trailer, gamers are not to thrilled with the new game. It’s possible that franchise fatigue is setting in, as there has been a new Call of Duty game every year since 2007. Activision did announce that Infinite Warfare would be bundled with a remastered version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which is beloved by fans.

As of publishing, the video has more than 9.2 million views, with 204,258 likes and 475,900 dislikes. Many of the comments express dissatisfaction with where the series has been heading. Since its more realistic roots with Modern Warfare, the series has been getting steadily crazier, and is currently pursuing sci-fi-inspired technology themes. Another reason for the dislikes is the fact thatthe Modern Warfare re-master will not be sold separately, meaning that if gamers want to relive the glory of the 2007 hit, they’ll need to pay the Infinite Warfare ransom.

While the Call of Duty series does have its fair share of critics, the games tend to sell phenomenally well. But the number of dislikes this reveal trailer has received is not at all par for the course. Compared to previous reveal trailers, Infinite Warfare seems to really have struck a nerve, and not a good one. The last Call of Duty game, Black Ops III, sits at over 22 million views, with 394k likes to 79k dislikes. The one prior to that, Advanced Warfare, featuring Kevin Spacey, has over 30 million views with 222k likes to 50k dislikes.

Franchise fatigue is definitely real. Gamers may have grown tired of the relentless Call of Duty push this past decade. Other popular franchises like Assassin’s Creed have decided to stop the annual release schedule in hopes of creating some breathing room for consumers. If things go poorly for this iteration of Call of Duty, it will be interesting to see what Activision does to increase consumer confidence.

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Imad has been a gamer all his life. He started blogging about games in college and quickly started moving up to various…

Gaming

How to access the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 beta

A soldier aims their pistol at an enemy at night.

It's been almost a year since last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released, which means it's time for the next installment in the annual shooter franchise. This time we're completing the trilogy (again) with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This entry has already generated a lot of hype among fans of the franchise for the inclusion, and return, of some highly requested features such as the mini-map and Zombies mode.

Sticking to the usual late-fall release schedule, Modern Warfare 3 will officially launch on November 10 of this year, but that doesn't mean you have to wait until then to get a taste of what's to come. If you play your cards right, you can get in on the beta to sharpen your skills before the competition.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III trailer teases a No Russian reimagining

No Russian's reimagining in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III

Activision Blizzard has fully pulled back the curtain on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III following an in-game event in its predecessor. This came alongside new gameplay that concludes by teasing a rebooted version of the series' infamous No Russian mission.
The gameplay trailer focuses on the campaign missions, which got a lot more detail in a post on the game's website. It affirms that the game follows Task Force 141 as they take on Vladimir Makarov and will feature some "Open Combat Missions" that give players multiple ways to complete objectives. The gameplay seems to mainly feature a stealthy run to one of these levels. Of course, the trailer's most shocking moment comes at the end.
Gameplay Reveal Trailer | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
We see Makarov text someone "No Russian," before they pull out a gun on a crowded plane. If you don't remember, No Russian was one of the original Modern Warfare II's most infamous missions, as it had players partake in a mass shooting terrorist attack at an airport with Russians. The level has influenced the tone of this rebooted Modern Warfare series, and it now looks like Modern Warfare III is set to reimagine this mission in some way, following up the Modern Warfare II post-credit scene that referenced it.

While the trailer focused on the campaign mainly, that post confirmed a lot of new info on multiplayer and Modern Warfare Zombies too. Its multiplayer features all 16 launch maps from 2009's Modern Warfare II, two larger Battle maps for Ground War and Invasion, and an even bigger War map for the return of the War Mode introduced in Call of Duty: WWII. Map voting returns, so you can have a say in where you want to play a match. Finally, Activision says Modern Warfare Zombies takes place in a new open world where players will fight Dark Aether Zombies, complete missions, and incorporate Extraction game elements.
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Activision teases Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III’s biggest improvements

Activision has just teased lots of new details about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which launches this November. That includes the fact that the game will contain a Zombies mode, more open-ended campaign missions, and introduce a new "Call of Duty HQ" that will serve as a hub for all future Call of Duty games.

These details were all revealed in a new blog post posted on the series' website ahead of the in-game event that will give us our first in-depth look at Modern Warfare II. In it, Activision clears up a lot of rumors about the game to try and show that Modern Warfare III is still an "incredible, premium annual game experience across Campaign, Multiplayer and Co-operative modes" despite reportedly starting development as a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II expansion.
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