2019's Call Of Duty Is A Reboot Of Modern Warfare, Release Date Set For October

Each May usually sees Activision's announcement detailing the yearly installment of the Call of Duty franchise. Just before E3 2019, the announcement has come right on time, with this one confirming many expectations about what Activision was cooking up next. Leaks and rumors suggested 2019's CoD title was a new entry in Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare sub-series, and they've proven to be (mostly) correct. A new trailer revealed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, a reboot of the 2007 classic, is this year's release, and is set to launch on October 25 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It features some significant and welcome changes on the multiplayer front that should make it a lot more welcoming for players, along with what Infinity Ward calls a more realistic style of single-player campaign.

Notably, this is not Modern Warfare 4, which would have been the next numbered entry in the series. The game's subtitle is simply Modern Warfare, and it serves as a reboot of sorts of 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It's decidedly not a remake, with developer Infinity Ward--the studio responsible for all of the Modern Warfare games--describing it instead as a reimagining. The new game is not set in the same universe as the existing trilogy--Infinity Ward says that world had left little room to raise the stakes further--but it does feature some familiar faces. Captain Price is back, for example, but with a new voice actor.

Gallery

As was previously confirmed, this year's Call of Duty will include a single-player campaign. It seems as though the story will concern Russian interactions with the Middle East, while enemies will include an ultranationalist group helping to execute terrorist attacks in major cities such as London.

Modern Warfare will of course include a multiplayer mode, but Infinity Ward hasn't yet revealed much more detail on that portion of the game. It did say, however, that your progression in the campaign will carry over to multiplayer, meaning you'll always be working towards unlocking new killstreaks, perks, and weapons.

Excitingly, the game will feature cross-play across PS4, Xbox One, and PC, allowing players on all platforms to jump into matches together. Since word of this feature was first published, we've gotten a few more details on how cross-play works. Fortnite was used as a point of comparison, and if you jump into a match, you'll be doing so with those using the same type of control input. That is to say, controller users won't be matched up with keyboard-and-mouse-using PC players, unless you join together with a friend using a different input method. In that case, the different pools of playerss will be brought together.

Another major change for multiplayer fans is that Activision will not be selling the standard season pass that locks off new, post-launch multiplayer maps. Instead, new maps and events will be available to all players for free. The company has not confirmed what might take its place, if anything, nor do we know if the Blackout multiplayer mode from Black Ops 4 will return.

One thing that isn't changing is the game's timed PS4 exclusivity. Like recent CoD entries, DLC will release first on PS4. Like with Black Ops 4, this window is only seven days. Beyond that, we don't know any specifics of how Activision will handle the rollout of this content or if it will impact cross-play during that exclusivity period.

The original game launched for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC back in 2007, and went on to be one of the most influential games of the 21st century. It was later remastered in 2016, though that is entirely separate to this upcoming reboot.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 25. For much more on the game, check out our extensive interview with Infinity Ward or our rundown of everything we know about the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot.

More details may be shared during an E3 Coliseum panel on June 11, and the game could potentially show up during an E3 press conference. However, given the aforementioned PS4 timed exclusivity, it probably won't show up during Xbox's, and Sony doesn't have a press conference of its own.