Over the years, the debate about whether Call of Duty was a military simulation game or an arcade shooter raged. But, after Call of Duty: Warzone came out in 2020 and opened a can of worms in the ever-controversial microtransaction financial model and Activision Blizzard took a page out of Epic Games’ Fortnite book, what Call of Duty has become is clear.
From a game that used to strive for realism and immersion, Call of Duty has evolved to increasingly resemble the pop culture mixing pot that is Fortnite.
Case in point, in its recent announcement, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone will welcome some of the most unlikely crossover operators into the game: Lilith, the Succubi queen from Diablo 4 and Inarius, his former lover and a fallen archangel. This revelation, amongst others, was made as Activision introduced Season 6 operators along with the teases of other horror-themed content, scheduled to go live on September 27.
What’s notable is that these aren’t the first pop culture icons to make an appearance in the game. Past crossovers have seen characters from Amazon Prime’s The Boys, rapper Nicki Minaj, NBA superstar Kevin Durant, and even the Burger King’s mascot. With each update, Call of Duty appears to be straying further from its origins, reminiscent of what happened to Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise.
This dynamic change in game character crossovers isn’t isolated to these two franchises. Season 6 promises a haunting Halloween event, new multiplayer maps, new weapons, and a Diablo-themed “The Haunting” event to close out the year. Maps like La Casa and Koro Village will be making their debut, along with two gunfight maps, King and Fight. The Haunting event, arriving during the season, is bound to introduce a spookier atmosphere with jump scares, skulls, and zombie-themed gameplay.
A burning question amidst these changes is, what’s the incentive behind these crossovers? Some speculate it’s merely cross-promotion for the sake of it. While Call of Duty and Diablo IV both fall under the umbrella of Activision Blizzard, it’s challenging to determine if there’s a significant overlap in their respective player bases. One perspective is that Call of Duty is leveraging popular characters from other universes to entice a broader audience. This strategy, while entertaining to many, has sparked controversy amongst die-hard fans.
Critics argue that introducing kitsch or “Fortnite skins” into Call of Duty undermines the game’s essence. But, again, it should become obvious to many by now that Call of Duty wants to shed its military shooter roots and fully embrace the arcade shooter route.
By fully investing in the entertainment value that the crossovers bring, Call of Duty can maintain relevancy in a market that’s become more increasingly competitive over the years.
A more positive way of looking at things is to enjoy logging onto the game and battling operators skins like Lara Croft and Messi. Soon, Lilith and Inarius will join the foray, potentially drawing even more curious players into the firefight.
Yet, the underlying concern remains: Is Call of Duty’s shift towards Fortnite’s playbook a sustainable strategy? Would the infusion of pop culture icons dilute the brand’s unique appeal, or will it cater to a more extensive player base seeking a variety in entertainment? It’s difficult to answer this question now. But, we can’t deny that it’s a polarizing move. It’s one that should only draw more backlash going forward.
Ultimately, Activision Blizzard’s “experimental” decision to lean heavily on crossovers with profitability in mind is partly the result of a lack of competition.
With virtually zero threats on the market, Activision Blizzard is free to do as it pleases. It’s only a bonus that its “throw whatever crossover to the wall to see what sticks” approach is reaping huge amounts of revenue for the company.
Once Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard by October, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to see a reality where Master Chief and Diablo and maybe even Kerrigan are back-to-back fighting against an incoming zombie horde.
