20 Most Controversial Games of the 2020s (So Far)
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
For many years the Call of Duty franchise seemed pretty much impeachable, that Activision could simply release their competent bread-and-butter first-person shooters every single year and score solid reviews.
But the wheels well and truly came off the enterprise with 2023's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Suspiciously announced just three months before it came out, Modern Warfare III was ultimately panned for its lackluster campaign pieced together from pieces of Warzone, and the general feeling that the game was rushed out to meet its release date.
Reports subsequently emerged that Modern Warfare III was originally intended to be an expansion pack for Modern Warfare II before Activision made a late pivot to a full-fat retail release, the expected value of which it clearly didn't meet.
Though it still sold a whole ton of copies, sales were massively down on the previous game, reflecting the overall sentiment that this was the first annual Call of Duty release that didn't justify itself in even the most basic way. And after the disaster that was Black Ops 7, and reports that sales of the franchise are down 60% year on year, it's not looking good for Call of Duty.