Activision has been bullish about the prospect, but the publisher may yet do an about-face and release a standalone version of Modern Warfare Remastered.
The acclaimed remaster of 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was bundled in with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. It seemed like a standalone release for the game was inevitable as early as September — two months before its release — but six months on and we haven’t heard anything else.
There’s no doubting that what little success Infinite Warfare did have was because of the appeal of Modern Warfare Remastered.
Despite Infinite Warfare being among 2016’s most popular games, it performed well below expectations, prompting Activision to go on an assault and bring the franchise “back to its roots”.
Modern Warfare Remastered is perhaps one of the best remastered and retooled efforts of a classic game ever, and with a healthy online community and a constant stream of updates, it seems logical for Activision to milk the game’s success and release it on its lonesome.
Activision has certainly won fans back with the announcement of Call of Duty: WWII, the franchise’s first World War II-based game since 2008’s World at War.
Backwards compatibility support for Black Ops and Black Ops 2 has also gone a long way to reignite interest in Call of Duty.
Releasing Modern Warfare Remastered standalone would also be a great move for a publisher looking to propel Call of Duty back to a position of dominance.
As noticed by the eagle-eyed folks at Charlie Intel, a Modern Warfare Remastered standalone release was listed on GameFly.
There was also a PlayStation 4 listing, which has since been removed.
As you can see, the Xbox One release date is noted as July 20, whereas the PlayStation 4 release is for June 20. That would make sense considering the PS4 exclusivity of Call of Duty expansions and DLC this generation.
Interestingly, both dates come after E3, alluding to an announcement at the event in June, perhaps during Sony’s pre-show PlayStation briefing.
Could Activision also use the opportunity to announce a Modern Warfare Remastered Trilogy? That would be truly amazing!