Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)

"Prepare to go dark, Modern Warfare® is back! The stakes have never been higher as players take on the role of lethal Tier One operators in a heart-racing saga that will affect the global balance of power. Developed by the studio that started it all, Infinity Ward delivers an epic reimagining of the iconic Modern Warfare series from the ground up."

- Official description

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward  for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows. It is a reboot of original Modern Warfare trilogy. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the sixteenth game in the Call of Duty franchise, the fourth game in the Modern Warfare series, and Infinity Ward's second to be developed in a three-year development cycle. Announced on May 30th, 2019, the game will be released on October 25th, 2019.

Development
In returning to the Modern Warfare series, Infinity Ward set out to create a game ripped straight from the real world terrorism that exists in modern day 2019. A week before the game's reveal, studio narrative director Taylor Kurosaki and single player director Jacob Minkoff explained to journalists this new game as a more mature, authentic, and relevant Call of Duty game that's not a superhero caricature, but a down-to-earth representation of the realities of being a soldier. It's taking scenarios that are "ripped from the headlines." Among the stated goals for the game's campaign: "Create an emotional connection through the realities of war," and "Push the boundaries of the medium."

In an interview with GameSpot, they asked Kurosaki what re-imagining the story of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare to be relevant in the world today means to him and what are some of key inspirations. Kurosaki responded "Sure, well, the original game was ripped from the headlines. But it was ripped from the headlines of 2007. And now, here we are 12 years later, and the world has further changed. I would say that compared to 2007, the Operation Iraqi Freedom or whatever it was, that was kind of traditional warfare. Those were guys in tanks, fighting other guys in tanks and Jeeps, and this side wore this uniform and this other side wore a different uniform, and this side flew this flag, and the other side flew the other flag.

Today, modern warfare means that the war isn't just over there. That the war is everywhere. It's in our own backyards. It's in places that can suddenly become a battlefield at a moment's notice. It's about enemies who don't wear uniforms. It's about civilian collateral damage kind of being, unfortunately, part of the equation. When we set out to make this game, we asked ourselves a very literal question. We just said, 'What do the words modern warfare mean in 2019?' Not what does the game name mean, but those words as just words: modern warfare. And for us, it meant that a busy city center could be the site of a terrorist attack. That a residential compound could be the safe house of a terror cell, that commandos have to go into and eliminate the cell. It means that it's not only sort of John Wayne-style American G.I.s, but it's also local militias and freedom fighters. Where families are hit by airstrikes and people have to pick up the pieces by picking up arms and fighting for their own independence. That, to us, was the definition of modern warfare and if we didn't have all of those elements in this game, we wouldn't be doing justice to that name."

Campaign
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a reboot of the Modern Warfare subseries that takes characters and themes from the original series and presents them in a modern light. Captain Price returns in this games campaign, but other returning characters, locations, or events are currently unknown.

Modern Warfare is said to deliver an emotionally charged and intense campaign that shines a light on the changing nature of modern war. Fight alongside a diverse cast of international special forces, freedom fighters and Arab soldiers working within the grey area of their rules of engagement in a number of heart-pounding covert operations set throughout iconic European cities and into the volatile expanses of the Middle East.

Locations include London, where a terrorist attack occurs at the start of the game, and the fictional country of Urzikstan. The plot is linear. Multiple characters will be playable, each with a different perspective on the conflicts at hand.

Multiplayer
"The ultimate online playground."

- Description of Multiplayer.

Modern Warfare' s multiplayer mode features signature Call of Duty fast-paced and grounded combat while also introduces brand new gametypes and experiences from 2v2 Gunfight matches to 100+ players in Ground War. Ditching class-based combat from previous titles, the game aims to accommodate all play styles by providing more customization options to the players, featuring deep weapon augmentation in the Gunsmith and replacing Specialists with Operators. Modern Warfare is also the first game in the franchise to feature crossplay across consoles and PC.

Gunsmith
"Tune your arsenal to your playstyle at the Gunsmith, which houses the most weapon choicesever in a Call of Duty title."

- Description of the Gunsmith

The Gunsmith is a feature in Create-A-Class introduced to Modern Warfare. It allows players to augment any weapon in a loadout with various customization options, including up to 60 attachments to pick for each weapon.

Gunfight
"Small team, multi-round cage matches. First team to reach the round win limit wins."

- Description of Gunfight.

Gunfight is a new game mode introduced to Modern Warfare. Similar to the Face Off mode from Modern Warfare 3, Gunfight puts players into a 2v2 match on small maps specifically designed for the mode. Each player is given the same loadout every 2 rounds with perks and killstreaks disabled. The first team to win 6 rounds wins the match.

2v2 Alpha
The 2v2 Alpha featuring Gunfight, exclusive to the Playstation 4 was announced during gamescom Opening Live on August 19th, 2019. It is scheduled to begin Friday, August 23rd with an early release a day prior. The Alpha is available for free to all PS4 users, Playstation Plus membership is not required.

Open Beta
The Playstation 4 Exclusive Open Beta is scheduled from September 14th to 16th. Players who have pre-ordered the game can gain early access to the Beta 2 days prior to the Open Beta on September 12th.

The Open Beta for all platforms featuring cross-play functionality is scheduled from September 21st to 23rd. Xbox One and PC players who have pre-ordered the game gains early access to the Beta on September 19th while all PS4 players have access to the Beta.

Special Ops
"Squad-up and play cooperatively in a collection of elite operations accessible to all skill levels."

The co-op mode Special Ops return from the original Modern Warfare series.