Call of Duty has changed a lot in the last year or so. What was once a serious military shooter has become a place for pop culture references, much like its direct Battle Royale rival, Fortnite. And fans aren't happy.
When a player posted a screenshot from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III page to Reddit, it caused a wave of players rallying against this recent shift. With one player saying "Just played a game as Homelander, Skeletor, Kevin Durant and Nikki Minaj." A little crying emoji on the end pretty much sums it up.
Call of Duty seems to be following in the footsteps of Fortnite
Advert
The direct reply to that comment from u/I_am_the_Disguyz was "If you told me this 10 years ago, I would've said you were on crack..." It is a strange turn of events. While Fortnite revels in celebrity endorsements and partnerships with TV, film, anime and more, it feels like it fits. Fortnite is so much a platform of bold cartoon visuals that it's not a reach to get Star Wars and comic books in on the action. For Call of Duty, it seems oddly out of place.
The comments on Reddit are sarcastic, disappointed and frustrated. One user says "It looks like they're pandering in order to gain a larger demographic. Maybe to counteract a loss in playerbase?" While another comments, "And this right here is precisely why im not buying it (MW3)." Counteracting this was u/Johnny54 who said "Y’all old mfs just need to accept you aren’t the target audience anymore." And Johnny has a point.
Call of Duty, particularly Warzone, has reached a point of popularity where it has to compete with Fortnite, and pop culture crossovers are big business. Even Apex Legends is teaming up with Post Malone. Endorsements have always been a part of business, but now we're seeing it happen in the biggest games in the world.
Topics: Activision, Call Of Duty, Call Of Duty Warzone