thatdemoguy

I will be the first to admit that I think that the Call of Duty franchise has more than its fair share of wear on it. In fact I would make a safe bet that quite a few gamers have felt the fatigue from the series in recent years. Even given all their efforts, Activision hasn't been able to properly reinvent the series. In fact, with all of the futuristic technology and such being introduced, the series has started to look like something that's distinctly NOT Call of Duty. Fans have only wanted the series to return to form, which is why, the announcement of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered created such huge waves. This was a much lauded title that for many was the start of their love affair with not only the Call of Duty series, but for competitive FPS (first person shooters) altogether.

 

Activision did catch a lot of heat when it was announced that the ONLY way to get the remastered game was to purchase the $80 Legacy Edition of their newest annual release, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. The reason that this proved to be an issue is because it forces consumers to buy a product they may not necessarily want, just to get one that they do. Why not take the route many other companies have taken and just release the classic title as a standalone release (physical and digital) at a reduced price? But gamers are a resourceful bunch, and many decided that they would make it vocal that they only wanted the remastered game by purchasing the package and then selling the copy of Infinite Warfare back while it retained a high value. Well the latest bit of news now changes that plan....

 

According to an update and a new bit of information on the official Call of Duty website, it has been "suggested" that the only way to access Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is to actually have the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare disk inserted into your system. What this means is that Modern Warfare Remastered is actually a form of the much hated "on disc" DLC that is locked away behind an $80 paywall. Trade or sell your copy of Infinite Warfare and you no longer own Modern Warfare Remastered. Now of course if you buy the "Digital Deluxe" Edition both games are unlocked but as is the case with digital downloads, you don't actually own anything tangible; you just have rights to the digital license.
 

Now I will play devil's advocate for just a bit and say that what Activision has done by bundling the two games is a bit of sound strategy. I say this because they know full well that Modern Warfare Remastered would draw attention away from the annual mainline release, and even though having two games on the market could potentially splinter the market, forcing you to buy one to get the other guarantees that they make their money regardless. And now they have two games being played by the community at once.

 

Activision is pretty adamant that Modern Warfare Remastered would never be sold separately, but I question what will happen once sales for Infinite Warfare start to slump after the initial release and post-holiday as all of these titles eventually do. I personally feel that we could quite possibly see the remastered game eventually be sold by itself, likely as a download. But we won't know what will happen in that respect until it actually happens right? Until then, anybody looking forward to going back to the classic better be ready to pay the premium come early November.

 

Are YOU a Call of Duty fan? Does this news significantly effect your intention to purchase the game this year? Do you think this is good business or do you think that Activision could potentially be shooting themselves squarely in the foot? Feel free to sound off here in the comments or open the conversation on all social media.