Call of Duty has changed a lot in the last year or so. What was once a serious military shooter has become a place for pop culture references, much like its direct Battle Royale rival, Fortnite. And fans aren't happy.
When a player posted a screenshot from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III page to Reddit, it caused a wave of players rallying against this recent shift. With one player saying "Just played a game as Homelander, Skeletor, Kevin Durant and Nikki Minaj." A little crying emoji on the end pretty much sums it up.
Call of Duty seems to be following in the footsteps of Fortnite
The direct reply to that comment from u/I_am_the_Disguyz was "If you told me this 10 years ago, I would've said you were on crack..." It is a strange turn of events. While Fortnite revels in celebrity endorsements and partnerships with TV, film, anime and more, it feels like it fits. Fortnite is so much a platform of bold cartoon visuals that it's not a reach to get Star Wars and comic books in on the action. For Call of Duty, it seems oddly out of place.
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The comments on Reddit are sarcastic, disappointed and frustrated. One user says "It looks like they're pandering in order to gain a larger demographic. Maybe to counteract a loss in playerbase?" While another comments, "And this right here is precisely why im not buying it (MW3)." Counteracting this was u/Johnny54 who said "Y’all old mfs just need to accept you aren’t the target audience anymore." And Johnny has a point.
Call of Duty, particularly Warzone, has reached a point of popularity where it has to compete with Fortnite, and pop culture crossovers are big business. Even Apex Legends is teaming up with Post Malone. Endorsements have always been a part of business, but now we're seeing it happen in the biggest games in the world.
Featured Image Credit: ActivisionTopics: Activision, Call Of Duty, Call Of Duty Warzone