We now have some new tidbits about next year’s Call of Duty.
It’s worth noting before we go forward with the rumor, the one fact that could make next year’s incarnation very different from other entries of this generation. If Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was DLC that was adapted into a standalone game in a matter of months, the next Call of Duty will be the exact opposite. Treyarch has been working on this title for four years.
In fact, it’s quite interesting that Activision chose to delay this title and rush Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III out, out of fears that they would not be able to close their deal with Microsoft. That means that they saved this game on purpose. They seem to know that this game is worth delaying until it would be perfect.
As reported by Jez Corden for Windows Central, Treyarch’s next game will be set during the Gulf War, and could in fact be called Call Of Duty Black Ops: Gulf War. Based on the date of its setting, it won’t feel like a game set in modern times, even though it looks like it should. That’s simply because many of the weaponry modern shooters simulate and gamers take for granted were not yet invented.
The Gulf War was held in a span of six months, between 1990 and 1991, and was about a coalition of Western nations acting to liberate Kuwait from the invading Iraq. This war happened under the administration of George Herbert Walker Bush, and should not be confused with US’ war and invasion of Iraq in 2003, led his son, George W. Bush.
Fitting the themes of Treyarch’s Black Ops games, this game will not put you in the shoes of the soldiers who fought Iraq for Kuwaiti’s liberation. Instead, you will be taking the role of the CIA. The historical record shows that at that time, the CIA attempted to launch an insurrection from within Iraq’s own government. You can read the details from this 2007 op-ed from the Washington Post.
Jez’ sources tell him that this game will attempt a ‘nuanced narrative’ of the Gulf War, critical of multiple participants. But if you’ve been playing Call of Duty games for all these years, you already know there can often be a gulf between the story the developers claim they are telling, and what’s in the game.
It will certainly be interesting to see some fictional depictions of late 1980s/early 1990s espionage, around the same vintage as the Bond film Licence to Kill. Treyarch put themselves in an unusual position of exploring a historical background that has seen few depictions in fiction. That they’ve spent considerable time on it may mean it’ll be a notch above the usual games that we get in the franchise. We’ll be finding out soon enough, as soon as the next financial quarter hopefully.
