For the past decade when someone thought of a first-person shooter game, the "Call of Duty" franchise most likely came to mind. Over the years, "Call of Duty" has been tremendously successful making billions of dollars nearly every year. The franchise is arguably the most successful and recognized gaming series of all time. However, the name "Call of Duty" may soon be a distant memory to beloved gamers.
The "Call of Duty" series skyrocketed into stardom with the fourth edition, "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare." The modern military shooter broke many records and is considered the game that started the successful series. Gamers loved the simplicity and accurate representation of the modern military the game provided.
Following COD 4, the franchise continued to dish out very popular and successful games every year. Activision and Treyarch, the companies who make the series, produced an early military shooter and numerous modern military shooters. As of recently, the two companies have seemed to move on from the modern military style and have created a new trend: futuristic shooters.
"Call of Duty" now does not necessarily mean "boots on the ground combat." The two most recent games, "Advanced Warfare" and "Black Ops 3", introduced new military tactics to its fans. "Call of Duty" added Exo Suits to the game. Exo Suits are equipped to every player and provides them with unique speed and agility that has never been seen in a Call of Duty before. You may ask yourself, "Why is this a bad thing?" We'll, it's actually pretty simple. Players do not enjoy futuristic warfare. In a poll produced in 2015, "Call of Duty" players were asked if they enjoyed Exo Suit movements or the traditional "boots on the ground" movements. Just over 50,000 gamers responded, and 43,000 players preferred traditional movements. "Call of Duty" gamers just do not enjoy being able to jump 20 feet in the air or run on walls.
The futuristic combat by "Call of Duty" has seen significant hate in the community, primarily on Youtube. Gamers seem to not want futuristic shooters; however, it also seems that the makers of "Call of Duty" are not listening to their community. The past two CODs have been set in the future and as of recently, Activision has released it's upcoming project of a "Call of Duty" based on space warfare. "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare's" trailer was released on Youtube on May 2, 2016. In just five days, the trailer has accumulated over 739,000 dislikes, compared to 226,000 likes. In just five days, the newest "Call of Duty" trailer has received more dislikes than all of the other "Call of Duty" trailers combined...and has peaked as the most disliked gaming video on Youtube. Again, just in five days.
It is apparent that not only do the "Call of Duty" community do not want futuristic shooters, especially space warfare, but it seems that the developers of the game are not interested in the wants of the community either. Arguably, these are two of the reasons why the "Call of Duty" series is dying. On May 7, 2016, another successful first person shooter, Battlefield, released their trailer for Battlefield 1; this game is based in World War 1. In just one day, the trailer gained 662,000 likes and just 12,000 dislikes. The Battlefield series has been battling side-by-side with "Call of Duty" for the best first person shooter franchise for years.
Although it is very early in the year and both games do not come out until late into the fall, it is apparent that the "Call of Duty" community is very upset of where the legacy of COD is going, and Battlefield seems to be definitely heading in the right direction. What will be the result of these games? That is to be seen. However, at the rate of which "Call of Duty" is heading, we may have a new king of first person shooters come this fall.
