What 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II' Needs To Succeed

So here we are. Another year, another Call of Duty title, only this time, the next instalment of Activision’s hugely successful military shooter series is emerging from the shadow of various lawsuits and heinous allegations surrounding its publisher’s workplace culture. We still don’t know how the legal action Activision is facing will play out, but we do know that the new COD has been confirmed to be Modern Warfare II, the sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare. 

The original Modern Warfare franchise, which ran from 2007 to 2011, has a firm place in Call of Duty fans’ hearts. Infinity Ward's 2009 title Modern Warfare 2 is often highlighted as one of the greats, and is one of the most-requested COD titles for the remake treatment. So with many fans expecting big things from 2022’s Modern Warfare II here’s what we think the game needs to do, in order to fill that MW2-shaped void. 

Refresh your memory of the storyline from 2019's Modern Warfare right here.

Call of Duty wouldn’t be Call of Duty without multiplayer. Although the franchise first launched as a campaign-only experience, the multiplayer aspect is the bread and butter for Activision nowadays, and with the significance of the game it’d be silly for them not to capitalise on it in the best way. So, what do we need? We need a standalone MW2 multiplayer remake, of course, which ships with the main title for those nostalgic sales. This would ideally be done in a similar way to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered which launched alongside 2016’s Infinite Warfare. Both games had multiplayer components back then, too. Not to mention that we’ve already had MW2 Campaign Remastered which, as its title suggests, didn’t feature a multiplayer mode. That leads us to think (well, to hope) that such a mode could be bundled alongside Modern Warfare II. 

MW2’s multiplayer mode was iconic, and it was part of a golden era of Call of Duty, from 2009 to 2012, the likes of which we haven’t seen since. Even after all these years you still remember the maps like the back of your hand. So whether we get some form of MW2 remake or not, it’d be nice to see some fan-favourite maps return, like Highrise, Terminal, Rundown, Estate or Afghan. Rust and Scrapyard got added in 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot as part of the DLC season, so it's likely older maps will be used as an incentive. But it’d be nice to get back to familiar territory in the main game or in the aforementioned standalone MW2 MP remake. 

Activision

2009’s Modern Warfare 2 had some absolutely bizarre weapons and loadouts, but because social media wasn’t really a thing then, nobody really complained about them. You either used them yourself or prepared yourself to get killed by them repeatedly until the enemy managed to get a 25 Killstreak and called in a tactical nuke. I'm mostly talking about the ACR, akimbo model 1887s and the UMP45 to name just a few, but the game had countless others, too. While I’m sure MWII will be a lot more balanced than back in 2009, it’d be a welcome sight to see a handful of these weapons return in a similar capacity. 

So we’ve done enough talking about multiplayer - now it’s Spec Ops’ turn. The simple yet intense co-op mode first made its appearance in MW2, and although it existed by name in 2019’s Modern Warfare, the mode just wasn’t up to scratch. In Modern Warfare II it’d be great to see it go back to its roots, with simple objective-based co-op modes that keep you and your partner on your toes. 

And finally, single player. 2019’s Modern Warfare took solo campaign play to new heights in terms of realism, so this paired with a MW2-esque storyline could be a match made in heaven when it comes to MWII. MW2’s storyline was a globetrotting adventure which gave you a few perspectives as it progressed. Infinity Ward will obviously have to take particular care with current events going on in the world, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing military action in Syria. This game cannot treat such real-world horrors lightly.

Activision

When Modern Warfare (2019) wrapped, the end cutscene showed Station Chief Kate Laswell chatting to John Price aka Captain Price, revealing his plans for Task Force 141 in an Avengers-style mashup, listing a few of the squadmates he hopes to recruit to tie up loose ends. And if you’re familiar with the Modern Warfare series, you’ll even recognise a few names, such as Simon Riley, John MacTavish and Kyle Garrick. As part of Infinity Ward’s ‘going dark’ process before announcements, they even teased Ghost in a dimly lit photo. 

If you’ve played Call of Duty consistently over the years, you’ll know just how iconic MW2 is, and hopefully MWII respects that rather than trying to overwrite one of its most popular predecessors. 2022’s Call of Duty needs to give fans a nostalgic blast, while continuing in the same vein as the Modern Warfare reboot. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II teasers have already begun, so it won’t be long until we get concrete information on the storyline and multiplayer components. Stay frosty.