The latest installment in the Call of Duty Franchise, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 has been pegged as the fastest-selling shooter in the history of the series. The game’s opening weekend sales have reportedly crossed $600 million, according to Barron’s report. The figures are comparable to other opening box-office figures associated with the biggest Marvel Avengers movies and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Fortune rings true for Call of Duty as the previous installment in the series Call of Duty: Vanguard disappointed both critically and commercially. VGC reported last year that Vanguard’s UK launch was the lowest of any series entry in the modern era. While sales aren’t necessarily the biggest factor of success in the modern era of gaming what with Warzone and its new pay-as-you-go gaming model (and the upcoming release of Warzone 2) it’s still a relevant metric.
That being said, all is most definitely not well in Call of Duty land. The game has been plagued by a considerable amount of bugs and issues since its launch on the 28th of October. Audio continuity problems with the PS4 and crashes with partying up have caused frustration from the new player base. What’s more, the attachment fine-tuning has also been completely disabled until further notice. Fortunately, however, Infinity Ward has been quick on the ball to provide updates that the issues.
There’s a also level in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 where the player traverses through an almost photo-realistic recreation of Amsterdam. A crossfire ensues and a hotel called the Breenbergh gets blown up. The hotel actually exists in real life, albeit under the name the Conservatorium Hotel.
The managerial team has responded to Infinity Ward’s inclusion of the hotel with dismay. Could this spur a potential lawsuit between the Conservatorium and the developers?
“We have taken note of the fact that the Conservatorium Hotel is undesirably the scene of the new Call of Duty,” Conservatorium Hotel manager Roy Tomassen said to the Volkskrant. “More generally, we don’t support games that seem to encourage the use of violence. The game in no way reflects our core values and we regret our apparent and unwanted involvement.”
The issue is that European architecture and European architecture are protected under copyright law. That means that they could actually sue Infinity Ward for using their building without their consent. Heavy. I guess time will tell if they decide to take such an action further.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is out now for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One and PC.
