Last week’s reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 / IV / IIII hardly sent shock waves through the industry, because, well, let’s be frank, a new Call of Duty game is the farthest away from a shock as you can get.
Just how publisher Activision and its three-pronged approach to development actually tackle the annual release is the cause of much discussion though: it’s not easy to continually innovate and entertain the audience. The fact that last year’s Call of Duty: WWII was seen as a “refreshing” turn for the franchise goes to show just how low it had fallen with Infinite Warfare.
The franchise’s Zombies mode has done wonders for keeping it engaging and feeling new, having evolved from being a Treyarch-game exclusive to a series staple.
But what more can Activision — and, specifically, Treyarch, the developer of the year’s CoD effort — do to help keep CoD relevant?
Well, jumping on the latest gaming bandwagon, just as the franchise did with Zombies, may be what’s needed.
Activision says it’s “keenly aware” of one particular game (or game mode) in battle royale, made outrageously popular by the likes of PUBG and Fortnite. To say these games have completely taken the industry by storm would be a massive understatement, and the fact Fortnite: Battle Royale is making its way to mobiles suggests we’ve officially reached peak mainstream.
By way of the Dow Jones Newswire, we know that Activision is “keenly aware of how other game publishers have recently benefited from releasing titles in [the popular] ‘battle royale’ genre”.
“Management reminded investors that the company is a faster follower,” is perhaps the most interesting takeaway from this.
Black Ops 4 seems like the more likely candidate seeing as this comment came from Activision and not Blizzard (it’s important to clarify that both are separate companies, each self-managed under the Activision Blizzard parent company), although Overwatch certainly seems like a more suitablecandidate considering the diversity of the hero roster. Some major new map design would be needed though, of course.
What are your thoughts? Which Activision game could best incorporate a Battle Royale mode? Sound off in the comments below!
