Everybody and their gran seems to have an intense hatred for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, but that isn’t putting publisher Activision off one bit.
Despite the fact that the game’s reveal quickly became the most disliked trailer on YouTube, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg told Mashable at E3 that it’s business as usual – they’re just focusing on making the best possible game.
Hirshberg pointed out that this kind of thing has actually happened before:
Our previous most-disliked trailer was the reveal trailer for Black Ops II. [That was] the first time we brought the franchise into the future. And that turned out to be one of our most successful games ever.
He added that the negative reception on YouTube was “unique”, and that it didn’t effect the volume of pre-orders for the game, or adversely effect the trailer on other platforms (like Facebook).
This unique result could well be down to the dedicated campaign to mass downvote Infinite Warfare on YouTube. If the aim of that campaign was to make sure Activision carried on with the game (and give it a bit of extra press), I have to say, they nailed it.
Hirshberg was first asked about the mass downvoting back in May, and his response was the kind of speech every politician aspires to give – it sounded like he addressed the issue, but he didn’t really say anything.
This is what he said:
First of all, you’ve gotta love the passion of gamers. This is an industry like no other, and a fan base like no other, and we love that our fans treat this franchise like it’s their own and has such strong points of view about it. There just aren’t many entertainment franchises on Earth that can generate the kind of passion that Call of Duty can. That’s a good thing.
Still, while the consensus seems to be that fans are upset that the game is set in the future, there’s a bit more to it than that.
Many folk seem to be predominately pissed because when Activision announced Infinite Warfare, they also unveiled a remaster of Modern Warfare – the most beloved Call of Duty entry.
The downside is that the only way to get said remaster is to buy a special edition of Infinite Warfare, which will set you back at least £70. I can see how that would rub fans up the wrong way.
Then again, maybe people really do just hate sci-fi shooters. Call of Duty Infinite Warfare will be out for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 4.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.