Call Of Duty: 9 Biggest Mistakes Activision Want You To Forget

8. Ghosts' "Next Gen Feature" Is... A Playable Dog

Starting off with a relatively harmless entry in the grand scheme of things, the marketing for Ghosts seemed to confirm just how out of ideas the Call of Duty franchise was at the end of the 2000s. The series had become bloated after the fracture of Infinity Ward (which I'll get to later), and the formula had stagnated to the point where a playable dog was a genuine big deal in the push to sell Ghosts.

Trailers showed how you'd fight alongside this canine helper, getting to jump in its paws for stealth missions as part of the campaign. Stealth missions. With a dog. This is what Call of Duty had to offer to the FPS scene back in 2013.

Though it's been reappraised a touch in hindsight, Infinity Ward's failed attempt at a new franchise was a real low for the entire brand when it first came out, and for the first time had everyone really wondering whether or not Activision's money maker had what it took to survive another generation of consoles.