Possible settings for Call of Duty 2016

Recently, I wrote an article based on the vivid history of the Call of Duty franchise. It got me asking what’s next? Staying true to the 3-year developer cycle, Call of Duty 2016 will be made by Infinity Ward and they have already teased some big happenings for this year’s installment.

Sledgehammer Games gave us Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Treyarch brought back Black Ops for a 3^rd go around and now it is Infinity Ward’s turn to re-model the first person shooter juggernaut. Since the last few games have been set in the future, is it safe to assume that this year’s installment will be as well? Let’s take a look at 3 of the possible settings for this year’s Call of Duty:

Call of Duty: Space Warfare

Infinity Ward tweeted out a picture of a man in a space suit to welcome in the New Year. Does this lead us to believe that this year’s Call of Duty will be set in space? Maybe, but how likely is it that an entire game based around shooting people is set in space? I don’t believe this is the most likely scenario but Infinity Ward tweeted it, not me.

While space would be seen as an unlikely setting, it would correlate with recent Call of Duty games being that it is more of a futuristic style of combat. People who saw the tweet were also quick to point out that Call of Duty Ghosts, the last game in the franchise developed by Infinity Ward, included a mission in space so the seeds have indeed been planted as a possibility.

While this could be seen as reading too much into one tweet, a Call of Duty game set in space would be something totally different for the franchise. Infinity Ward has brought in some of the most phenomenal gaming developers of the past decade including people from Naughty Dog and the Director of Rise of the Tomb Raider. It is clear that they are gearing up for something big, could it be space warfare?

Call of Duty: Gulf War/Modern Warfare 4

Credit IGN for bringing up this idea in a podcast. The Gulf War, taking place in the early ’90s, would be a nice excuse for Infinity Ward to return the series to their strong suit and that is Modern Warfare. I know I put Modern Warfare 4 in the title but I actually mean just a return to the Modern Warfare setting. Infinity Ward gave us two of the greatest Call of Duty games of all time in Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2, so why not try and recreate the magic?

The Gulf War period of time would be an interesting setting and would no doubt return the game to its classic feel. There would be classic guns and many interesting maps to play on, not to mention a lack of thruster packs and robots. While it may not coincide with the recent installments, it would still be viewed as a nice change of scenery for a game that has gone futuristic with its gameplay.

Call of Duty: Zombies

Saving the most unlikely for last, I understand that this is a shot in the dark but it should have been made already. While Treyarch is the developer that has handled the Zombies portion of Call of Duty, Infinity Ward could take the original formula from Call of Duty: World At War and turn it into a full-fledged winner. Imagine a game where one side is World War II Allied soldiers and the other side is a bunch of gun-toting Nazi zombies. That is a game I would LOVE to play.

Unfortunately, this is the least likely option. Treyarch likely holds the rights to the Zombies portion of the game and probably won’t like the idea of Infinity Ward making money off of their idea, but never say never. 

There are no boundaries for Call of Duty in 2016.

We have been to World War I, II, and to the future. We have seen Nazi zombies and have fought in space. Whatever Infinity Ward has in store should be quite astonishing. They are gearing up for a big year and the Call of Duty community will only benefit from what’s to come. Be on the lookout for news on the latest installment in the Call of Duty franchise.