Why Fans Already Hate Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare
The trailer for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has fans talking—but whether it's the kind of talk that Activision and Infinity Ward want is another question entirely. As of this writing, the official trailer has over 16 million views. What's notable is that it also has over 1.5 million dislikes, compared to about 300,000 likes. That's quite a gap. Why such a negative reaction to Infinite Warfare before it's even out? Let's look at what the fans are saying.
The graphics quality is lacking
One of the rallying cries against Infinite Warfare is its graphics. In many fans' eyes, the game doesn't look polished enough, and some have laughingly called it a re-skin of other Call of Duty titles. YouTube user chester822117 wrote, "Same game engine, same animations only updated textures. I think this should be add-on to remastered CoD4 :P anyway worth max $4.99. We already seen it all. Thanks Infinity Ward / Activision but here's your pay-off for sacking people responsible for decent CoD's. :-)"
The futuristic setting is unpopular
Judging from a number of the comments on the trailer, players are tired of futuristic shooters—which is understandable, considering all the aliens we've had to dispatch over the years. With the space creatures from games like Halo, Mass Effect, and even Dead Space combined, gamers have spent the last two decades or so wiping out an entire galaxy. It can get pretty old.
YouTuber Christoffer Røsnes wrote, "Man im so tired of these future cod games.Its just getting more and more boring for me." We suppose it's not too much to ask to get a different, non-futuristic setting using the same, tried-and-true Call of Duty formula that fans have grown to love.
Some feel 'Modern Warfare: Remastered' is packaged with the game as incentive
Fans don't know whether to laugh or be angry with Infinity Ward and Activision over the inclusion of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered. The updated version of the classic game that started the phenomenon will be packaged with the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – Legacy Edition for $79.99. This has led to fans joking that Activision knew ahead of time Infinite Warfare would be received poorly, so they decided to lump in Modern Warfare Remastered to sweeten the pot. Here's what some fans on YouTube are saying about the Legacy Edition.
Gabriel Sader2: "Activision must have realized that they were f*** if they didn't put in cod 4 remaster."
HellSpawnCY: "Trying to sell their new sh–y game, by giving us CoD 4. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
Fans want boots on the ground with good stories
As YouTube user BigTimeMikey6929 put it, "So dumb. i am sick of the jump suits, and sick of all the hi tech b.s. and now space??? Really? i just want to go back to what made COD great...awesome war games, with good storylines and fun online multiplay. if i want all the above stuff, i will play star wars or other futuristic games. i havent bought COD since Ghosts, and will not till they go back to making modern war games again."
It makes sense that fans would want more of the classic action and gritty stories that turned the Call of Duty franchise into a juggernaut with games like Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2. Plenty of gamers played for the multiplayer suite, sure, but the single-player campaigns that followed the story of Soap McTavish and Captain Price also earned a lot of fans. It's a little funny, but sending soldiers into space to fight extraterrestrials just might be alienating the fan base.
Developers didn't listen to suggestions
Another criticism against Activision and Infinity Ward is that they didn't listen to what the fans wanted in a new Call of Duty game. As a result, there's backlash because they're getting a game they didn't really want—in fact, some fans are even threatening to jump ship and purchase Battlefield I instead, claiming that DICE and EA have listened to their fans and provided them with a game they'll actually enjoy playing, since it's catered to their wants. YouTuber lasha jiji wrote, "Didn't take our advice well now you've got (1.5)MILLION Dislikes..." We'll see if their tune changes as more of the game is shown, but for now, it looks like a sizable portion of the CoD fan community could jump ship.
Too many similarities to 'Halo'
A number of fans have commented that they feel the game—at least as presented in the trailer—feels awfully similar to Halo. YouTube user Christopher Wallace wrote, "Where's Master Chief? .... Oooppps my bad, this is Call of Duty trailer not Halo 6." Nolly2 added, "This game looking like some f*cked up Halo game." Here's another example of how Infinite Warfare's futuristic space setting isn't working in its favor. If hardcore Call of Duty fans don't see this as a Call of Duty game, how successful can it be?
Fans dislike the timetable for the series
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons fans dislike Infinite Warfare is the way it illustrates the perils of putting out annual sequels. When games are pumped out year after year, it doesn't give developers enough time to absorb the feedback from fans and craft games accordingly. By developing games at such a rapid clip, publishers run the risk of changing content and themes faster than players can get used to them. As YouTuber liki3 wrote, "when they started to ship out cod game every year me and my friends were like 'eventually they'll make a space one 100% which no one will want cuz it won't be cod anymore' here you go lads at activision. get rekt."
Hopefully there's a lot more to Infinite Warfare than we've seen—and if not, hopefully all the negative feedback from the trailer will inspire Infinity Ward and Activision to make some changes before it's too late.