Modern Warfare 4 Promises 'Grounded' Cosmetics and Collaborations

After officially revealing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Infinity Ward addresses the elephant in the room by confirming how the studio plans to handle future cosmetics and collaboration after the game launches. For most online shooters these days, especially in the case of big franchises like Battlefield and Call of Duty, there’s a lot of pressure to ensure that the games continue to churn out content to keep players coming back and logging in. It seems that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 aims to stay true to player expectations, though the type of content it offers may be a bit different than normal.

Cosmetics continues to be big business for live service games as studios constantly add new outfits, weapon skins, and other personalization items that players can purchase using some sort of premium currency, in-game credits, or some combination of both. Serving as a way to generate revenue, it has become a big focus for many games regardless of genre, though how each studio approaches this mechanic can be wildly different. For example, Battlefield 6‘s DLC plans attempted to stand apart by offering only realistic and grounded style outfits and while it has managed to mostly stay true to that, some of what it offered has caught the ire of its community. Call of Duty also appears to be turning a corner now, especially with what Infinity Ward had to say on the subject.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Levels Are Based on YouTube Videos

In a recent interview, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s campaign directors revealed that some of the game’s levels were made using YouTube footage.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Moving Away From Unrealistic Cosmetics and Collabs

Taking to social media after the reveal of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Infinity Ward added some more context to what fans can expect after launch. The studio confirmed that every aspect of the game will be anchored by the campaign’s narrative and that every decision will therefore need to feel authentic, especially when it comes to cosmetics and collaborations. The post continues by saying that the team is committed to keeping everything grounded as well as transparent with players. To that end, the studio is also asking for player feedback to help guide the studio in what its community wants.

Fit the 9 games into the grid.

The admission from Infinity Ward should appeal to fans who have been frustrated as of late by what the franchise has been offering the last few years. Although the Call of Duty franchise has always been rooted in combat, Activision has gotten a lot of flak from fans over some of its cosmetics and collaborations to the point where other games have come out and actively said they won’t be doing what the Call of Duty franchise has been doing for post-launch content. The Call of Duty franchise has a long list of crossovers, especially since the series has turned into a live service-style game and some of what has been offered hasn’t sat well with fans.

From Seth Rogan, Beevis and Butthead, to Wubz and Friends, there have been more than a few headscratching collabs. However, one collab in particular has seemingly become the lightning rod for many online debates, with many referencing the turning point as to when Nicki Minaj was added. From that point, the franchise seemingly continued to turn down the less serious route for skins, and was even the focal point of Battlefield 6 saying it didn’t need Nicki Minaj and would rather keep things grounded.

Guess the games from the emojis.

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The shift in tone will certainly put many fans at ease, especially since it appears that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is going to be more serious in tone. Moving away from some of the more fantastical elements presented in Black Ops 7, Modern Warfare 4 focuses on a conflict between North and South Korea that quickly spreads beyond the peninsula. Fan favorite Captain John Price also returns for this latest installment, though he appears to have gone off the grid as the trailer teases a brewing showdown with his longtime associate, Ghost.