Call of Duty has been making headlines lately and it’s not only for its gameplay. The franchise was at the center of the battle between Sony and Microsoft as the former tried to stop the latter from acquiring Activision Blizzard. In the end, Sony’s tactics didn’t work. It was also the subject of a recent promise by Xbox chief Phil Spencer that all platforms will enjoy equal treatment where the franchise is concerned. However, the franchise is currently in the news for another reason and it relates to the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is headed to PC and consoles next month, and Activision is ramping up promotion to get fans excited for the game’s release. Recently, the studio unveiled a live-action trailer for the game, directed by David Leitch of John Wick fame. This trailer features hip-hop artist 21 Savage, basketball player Devin Booker, and British rapper Central Cee.
The trailer, titled “The Lobby,” showcases the area where players gather in Call of Duty’s multiplayer mode just before a new session begins.
The trailer opens with a typical Call of Duty gamer, represented by a young guy named Killswitch, attempting to gain entry into a secret underground location. Using his Call of Duty username, he gains access and finds fellow players preparing for the upcoming battle.
During Killswitch’s exploration, he encounters popular in-game characters like Makarov, Ghost, Gaz, and Vargas. The trailer also teases iconic maps from the Call of Duty franchise, including Favela, Rust, and Highrise.
Towards the end of the trailer, Activision reintroduced the iconic tagline, ‘There is a soldier in all of us.’ For newcomers to Call of Duty, this tagline was a constant fixture in the franchise’s live-action trailers for several years. However, Activision decided to retire it in 2017 for reasons best known to it. The studio’s decision to bring it back is an obvious attempt to invoke nostalgia, a move likely to resonate well with the franchise’s devoted fanbase, especially given that Modern Warfare 3 is a reboot.
In recent years, Leitch has established himself as a bonafide action director. His fast-paced, stunt-driven, and comically gory directorial style has delivered many box office successes but we hardly see it on display in the Call of Duty trailer. This feels like an underutilization of the director’s many talents especially since Call of Duty is a game where casualties are the order of the day.
Despite this, the Modern Warfare 3 trailer offers exciting gameplay. Its inclusion of stars and the buzz it has generated online point to a successful promotion.
21 Savage’s contribution to the franchise goes beyond his acting in the trailer. The 30-year-old rapper also lends his voice to a new song titled Call Me Revenge, performed with D4vd. The song captures the essence of Call of Duty, and Savage’s relaxed yet focused rap style is sure to excite gamers, urging them to engage in intense battles against their in-game foes.
For loyal fans who pre-order the game, Activision offers an incentive – early access to the campaign, a week before its wide release. If that is not enough motivation to pre-order, perhaps the promise of a new 3v3v3 game mode will do the trick.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 from November 10.
