The Call Of Duty Sequel Activision Needs To Make (But Never Will)

Why Infinite Warfare 2 Now?

But why, in 2020, does this poisoned well need to be drank from? Why should Activision put in the effort and give the game a second chance when it can just cut ties and continue bathing in tubs of money?

Well, for one, while Infinite Warfare was ridiculed for being derivative with its sci-fi setting in 2016, it would be a breath of fresh air now. Activision's biggest failing with the whole series this generation has been a lack of diversity in its different COD brands. The whole appeal of having three developers working on three-year cycles should be that they each get to create their own unique universes, and offer a different flavour of COD every year to stop things getting stale.

Instead, there was a clear mandate that they all needed to fit into a certain focus-tested ballpark, in both gameplay and setting.

From arguably Black Ops 2 onwards, the series had an increased sci-fi focus, and from Advanced Warfare each game featured the double-jump dash mechanic. They all had different names, but each game played same, while even familiar narrative tropes - such as casting a big name actor as the villain (Kevin Spacey in Advanced Warfare and Kit Harrington in Infinite Warfare) - cropped up repeatedly in a way that allowed franchise fatigue to creep in and make the whole series feel as though it was out of ideas.

Thankfully, that's no longer the case. With Call of Duty: WW2 jumping into the past, Black Ops 4 staying in the near-future and Modern Warfare re-centring the franchise with a contemporary focus, Activision is seemingly edging towards far more variety when it comes to the setting of each brand.

Consequently, there's now space (pun intended) for a full sci-fi Call of Duty. As long as it's not something we get every year, there's the ability for Infinite Warfare 2 to single-handedly lead the pack of futuristic shooters. Instead of being another sci-fi COD, it could be the sci-fi COD.

Fans might be more open to embracing this side of the franchise if it's not the only thing getting stuffed down their throats.