Infinity Ward respond to concerns over cosmetic items in Modern Warfare
Infinity Ward / TreyarchDevelopers of the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward, have teased their plans for post-launch content in the game, as fans express concerns about past titles.
The studio is gearing up for the multiplayer reveal event on August 1, which will show off the game’s most anticipated mode in full for the first time.
As the game itself is aiming for unparalleled realism compared to previous Call of Duty titles, there is a concern that post-launch content will break the immersion by adding items which don’t fit with the them of a realistic, gritty, military shooter.
Fans are hoping for more down-to-earth cosmetics in Modern Warfare.These concerns are well-founded of course, as even Call of Duty: WWII, which at first portrayed a gritty or ‘visceral’ theme depicting the horrors of the second world war, eventually added in content that didn’t exactly fit within that theme.
There is no doubt that there will be DLC and microtransaction content in Modern Warfare too, but Infinity Ward will have to find a balance between exciting cosmetics, and keeping the theme of the game intact.
When a fan requested that the game avoid “pink, rainbow, glowing, random unrealistic skins for our character”, Infinity Ward’s art director Joel Emslie shut down the suggestion immediately, confirming it would all be “realistic and relevant.”
The fan highlighted Black Ops 4 as the primary culprit of adding in immersion breaking content for the sake of exciting cosmetics.
This stuff is so annoying in Black Ops 4 and every CoD that had it,” Reddit user u/Zerogws explained, “Black Ops 4 was so much better on release. I remember it feeling more tactical and boom now we have pink guys running around or glowing skins and flashy guns.”
Black Ops 4 has been criticized heavily for its microtransaction system in general, with a mixture of a Fortnite-like battle pass mixed with supply drops too, called ‘Reserve Cases’. According to one estimation, it would cost a player over $1,000 to acquire every cosmetic in the game.
With so much content released for Black Ops 4, Modern Warfare will have to balance the demands of players who want more cosmetics and those who want to ensure the game’s aesthetic isn’t sacrificed.