Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Modern Warfare 3 disappointment has COD players hankering for the grand old days of Infinite WarfareNov 9, 2023 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunEvery so often in the course of our irregular series of Gamers Hate Thing posts, I like to chuck in a Gamers Love Thing post just to shake things up - though in this case, Gamers Love the Thing in question partly for not being another Thing they Hate, and the Thing they Love is something they Hated back in 2016. Erm. Let's start again. As you may know, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - not to be confused with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - is out from today, 9th November. Pre-ordering players and a few lucky journos (whom we absolutely don't fear and resent for receiving copies early) have been able to play the campaign since 1st November, and the reactions and reviews thus far haven't been great. Read more The best Call of Duty campaigns, ranked from worst to bestJan 26, 2021 - PCGamesNJanuary 26, 2021 We originally published this back on 7 December, 2016. In that time, we've had three new main Call of Duty campaigns to factor in, so we've adjusted the article to reflect those changes. Did you know that there are 16 Call of Duty campaigns available to play through for PC players? Neither did we, and we've played the whole lot of them (even some of the console only ones like Big Red One, but we can't talk about those here, shhhhh). While many players have been firmly hooked on the series' multiplayer modes since 2007, it can be easy to forget that Call of Duty started out as a primarily single player experience. Those experiences were pretty damn good, too, and dragged FPS games into the 21st century with blockbuster set pieces, not to mention relatively new mechanics like regenerating health and aim down sights. There have definitely been some lulls along the way, not to mention an outright abandonment of single player in the form of Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII, but the latest crop of Call of Duty campaigns show the series is capable of dropping jaws every now and then. Join us as I use science to objectively tell you the definitive ranking of Call of Duty campaigns. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Activision knows your age, sex, and location, and wants to use it to make NPCs Call of Duty Infinite Warfare sequel is "never" going to happen, says former dev Infinity Ward has reportedly been evacuated after bomb threat The secret sci-fi greatness of Call of Duty: Infinite WarfareMay 15, 2019 - PC GamerWhen I think of the science fiction genre, the first thing that comes to my mind is the tour of the Nostromo that opens 1979's Alien. It's a surprisingly delicate sequence—the slow drift of greebled spaceship-surfaces past the camera, then the cut inside, patiently sliding through corridor after corridor of angular metal and ornate panelling. We finally settle, after ducking under a ceiling slung with machines and monitors, at the ship's bridge, and just as we are wondering when something is going to happen the ship blorps to life, rattling at us like a disturbed snake. The sequence as a whole is a kind of calling card for cinematic sci-fi, a commitment to the drama inherent in being enclosed inside a giant machine, floating in a void colder than death itself. In comparison, the opening sequence of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare feels distinctly inelegant. Coming to the game this year, motivated in part by research for my own science fiction game, In Other Waters, I was only playing the game to wander around its central spaceship hub, The Retribution. I wasn't impressed by the opening, starting on the soft curve of the Earth with its accompanying narration on the villainous Settlement Defence Front, or by being dumped behind the visor of one of the series' near-inseparable soldiers (Wolf, this one is called) ready to drop onto the ice of Europa. There were bloody melee kills, synchronized headshots and everything else I was expecting from a Call of Duty game, but then minutes later Wolf was dead, and something new began. Two breathless hours later, now securely set up in the Bridge of the Retribution, I understood that there was more to this game than I had expected, and, with my mind drifting to thoughts of Alien's opening sequence, I realized that against all the odds, Infinite Warfare manages to not just be a serviceable science fiction game, but a great one after all. That was doubly surprising considering Infinite Warfare's shaky pedigree. After all, this is the bad Call of Duty, the one whose YouTube debut was disliked to oblivion, the one where that pernicious military phrase “boots on the ground” came into use and the one that sold 50 percent less than its series counterparts. After release Activision even distanced itself from its own game, with CEO Eric Hirshberg claiming “it just didn't feel enough like Call of Duty”. It's also hard not to see Infinite Warfare's 'failure' as contributing to the death of the Call of Duty campaign, with Black Ops 4 releasing last year without one altogether (although this year's entry will reportedly have one). But perhaps “not feeling like Call of Duty” is what allows Infinite Warfare to aspire to something else. After the rote prologue, the game abandons the series' typical character switching, for example, instead keeping you firmly in the boots of one Commander Nick Reyes. This...Valve issues 95,000 bans in just seven daysJul 22, 2018 - EurogamerValve has stepped up its anti-cheat measures and issued almost 95,000 bans in the last week alone. In July 2017, we reported that on 6th July Valve banned over 40K Steam accounts for cheating, making it the single largest banhammer the company had ever deployed. Emphasis on "had", though. Read more… 11/7/17 - Patch NotesNov 7, 2017 - Community Announcements11/7/17 **General Fixes** • Fixed an issue with RC-8s causing rare errors in final killcams • Fixing challenge issue with the Venom-X camos (past Wilderness not get getting unlocked) • Changed Direct Impact challenge for the Venom-X into a Stick challenge • Halloween weapon variants should now properly unlock the associated base weapon • Boss Battles are now playable in Local/Custom matches • Players will now earn keys even when they fail to beat the boss in Boss Battles 10/13/17 **General Fixes** • Fix for an issue where obtaining variants of the M.2187, Auger, and Stallion .44 would not unlock the base weapon (for Non-Season Pass holders)11/7/17 - Patch NotesNov 7, 2017 - Community Announcements11/7/17 **General Fixes** • Fixed an issue with RC-8s causing rare errors in final killcams • Fixing challenge issue with the Venom-X camos (past Wilderness not get getting unlocked) • Changed Direct Impact challenge for the Venom-X into a Stick challenge • Halloween weapon variants should now properly unlock the associated base weapon • Boss Battles are now playable in Local/Custom matches • Players will now earn keys even when they fail to beat the boss in Boss Battles 10/13/17 **General Fixes** • Fix for an issue where obtaining variants of the M.2187, Auger, and Stallion .44 would not unlock the base weapon (for Non-Season Pass holders)Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare launches 'Willard Wyler's Halloween Scream' eventOct 10, 2017 - PC GamerAfter a somewhat unsuccessful foray into the future, the next and imminent Call of Duty instalment will return to World War 2. Before it does, though, the latest series entry seems determined to squeeze some fun out of a game that otherwise punishes improvising players—something underscored by its newly-launched 'Willard Wyler's Halloween Scream' event. Set to run now through November 1, the Halloween special includes giveaways, double XP periods, a new zombies mode and a new 'Carnage map', among other things. As you might expect, it comes with a trailer. Look, see: And here's publisher Activision with some of that in more detail: * Free Halloween-themed Supply Drop at the beginning of each week. * Free Halloween-themed cosmetic item every Friday, along with one final gift on 30th October. * Halloween-themed gear and loot, including brand-new zombie-themed Rig skins, available to earn. * Boss Battle mode, which starts on 13th October, allows players to take on their favourite final bosses from each of the Infinite Warfare zombies modes. It begins with the first chapter, Zombies in Spaceland, and continues with the following chapters becoming available, two per week, ending with the ultimate battle in The Beast from Beyond (players must own DLC packs to access DLC chapters). * Return of Gesture Warfare multiplayer mode to celebrate Halloween, which runs now through 12th October and allows fans to use gestures to humiliate and annihilate their opponents. * Carnage, a fan-favourite multiplayer map from the Retribution DLC pack, free to play and with double XP for all players from 12th October to 1st November. More information on Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare's Willard Wyler's Halloween Scream event can be found here. Tyler found the base game to be below average last year—here's his review in full. 10/6/17 - Patch NotesOct 6, 2017 - Community Announcements10/6/17 Playlists • Removed Prototype Drop Zone and added Hyper Team Deathmatch in the Featured Tab • Gesture Warfare is back! This time with 2XP! General Fixes Venom-X: Increased ammo to give 3 total clips at spawn. You can no longer pick up extra ammo (like the Howitzer) Fixed an issue for challenges not tracking correctly Damage has been increased on the primary fire mode The radius of damage on the secondary mode has been increased to help improve overall damage Impact damage from the primary fire mode has been lowered, meaning the kill will generally come from the explosion, which will now be properly mitigated by Blast Shield • Katana/Nunchucks: Adjusted rumbles on impacts to give stronger feedback on hits Demolition Spawn Protection lasts 1.5 seconds. Very brief to deter spawn traps Spawn Protection will only be active in the playlist version of this mode Gesture Mode Two new gestures have been added to the rotation: Begone and No You Didn’t All players now start with the Bang Bang Gesture to facilitate an easier first kill Knife Melee weapon was removed. You’ll now use a normal melee punch attack, still an OHK from behind All Gestures now have a larger hit detection area during their damage frames All Gestures now hit at a slightly farther range if an enemy is in your reticle during damage frames (red pulse) You’ll now earn Scavenger on a 3 kill streak instead of after 1 kill The R-C8 Toy Gesture now has a slightly increased hit detection than other Gestures The Head Crush Gesture now has 3 fast hits instead of 1 and starts its damage frames slightly earlier Gesture Mode can now be enabled in Custom and LAN matches! • Backend prep for upcoming events Zombies • Miscellaneous bug fixes 9/28/17 General Fixes • Fix for camo challenges not unlocking properly for the Katana and Nunchucks • Backend prep for upcoming events/playlists10/6/17 - Patch NotesOct 6, 2017 - Community Announcements10/6/17 Playlists • Removed Prototype Drop Zone and added Hyper Team Deathmatch in the Featured Tab • Gesture Warfare is back! This time with 2XP! General Fixes Venom-X: Increased ammo to give 3 total clips at spawn. You can no longer pick up extra ammo (like the Howitzer) Fixed an issue for challenges not tracking correctly Damage has been increased on the primary fire mode The radius of damage on the secondary mode has been increased to help improve overall damage Impact damage from the primary fire mode has been lowered, meaning the kill will generally come from the explosion, which will now be properly mitigated by Blast Shield • Katana/Nunchucks: Adjusted rumbles on impacts to give stronger feedback on hits Demolition Spawn Protection lasts 1.5 seconds. Very brief to deter spawn traps Spawn Protection will only be active in the playlist version of this mode Gesture Mode Two new gestures have been added to the rotation: Begone and No You Didn’t All players now start with the Bang Bang Gesture to facilitate an easier first kill Knife Melee weapon was removed. You’ll now use a normal melee punch attack, still an OHK from behind All Gestures now have a larger hit detection area during their damage frames All Gestures now hit at a slightly farther range if an enemy is in your reticle during damage frames (red pulse) You’ll now earn Scavenger on a 3 kill streak instead of after 1 kill The R-C8 Toy Gesture now has a slightly increased hit detection than other Gestures The Head Crush Gesture now has 3 fast hits instead of 1 and starts its damage frames slightly earlier Gesture Mode can now be enabled in Custom and LAN matches! • Backend prep for upcoming events Zombies • Miscellaneous bug fixes 9/28/17 General Fixes • Fix for camo challenges not unlocking properly for the Katana and Nunchucks • Backend prep for upcoming events/playlists9/7-9/26 Updates and Patch NotesSep 26, 2017 - Community Announcements9/26/17 General Fixes and What’s New • Venom-X (Launcher) • Katana (Melee) • Nunchucks (Melee) • Fix for the Ripper’s alternate mode state not saving after death • Fix for the Resupply Warfighter Trait staying active for the first life if a player changed to a different Rig at the beginning of a match • Fixed an issue where the Deatomzier strike icon would not load properly Zombies • Adjusted the frequency at which the Cryptids are spawning • Fix for the effects of the FnF Twist of Fate card following Mephistopheles around the map • Fix for solo players being unable repurchase Up N' Atoms while under the influence of Perkaholic from Ghost N Skulls • Fix for songs not playing in the main menu correctly • Users were unable to obtain the Talisman after defeating the Rat King if the player kills the Rat King in the rafters of the arena. This has been fixed 9/21/17 • Fix for the Packin’ Heat FnF card being unusable after leaving the PaP room • Backend fixes and prep for upcoming featured modes 9/14/17 • Fix for a crash that would occur in zombies after the recent update • Fix for the Purify Fate and Fortune card exploit in zombies • Fix for the Skull Hacker Fate and Fortune card; when downed in Ghosts n Skulls, players were given their original weapon • Various map and backend fixes for multiplayer and zombies 9/12/17 Playlist Update - XP events live now until Monday, 9/18 • 2X Keys is now live on PS4, regardless of whether you own DLC 4 • 2X Keys, 2X Weapon XP, 2X Mission Team XP, and 2XP is now live in all DLC 4 playlists, including The Beast from Beyond 9/7/17 Playlist Update • Removed Mayhem as the featured mode and replaced it with Epic Gun Game (until 9/15) • Added a FREE DLC Moshpit playlist featuring Renaissance, Turista, and Permafrost (until 9/12) • 2XP and 2WXP is live across multiplayer and zombies (until 9/12)9/7-9/26 Updates and Patch NotesSep 26, 2017 - Community Announcements9/26/17 General Fixes and What’s New • Venom-X (Launcher) • Katana (Melee) • Nunchucks (Melee) • Fix for the Ripper’s alternate mode state not saving after death • Fix for the Resupply Warfighter Trait staying active for the first life if a player changed to a different Rig at the beginning of a match • Fixed an issue where the Deatomzier strike icon would not load properly Zombies • Adjusted the frequency at which the Cryptids are spawning • Fix for the effects of the FnF Twist of Fate card following Mephistopheles around the map • Fix for solo players being unable repurchase Up N' Atoms while under the influence of Perkaholic from Ghost N Skulls • Fix for songs not playing in the main menu correctly • Users were unable to obtain the Talisman after defeating the Rat King if the player kills the Rat King in the rafters of the arena. This has been fixed 9/21/17 • Fix for the Packin’ Heat FnF card being unusable after leaving the PaP room • Backend fixes and prep for upcoming featured modes 9/14/17 • Fix for a crash that would occur in zombies after the recent update • Fix for the Purify Fate and Fortune card exploit in zombies • Fix for the Skull Hacker Fate and Fortune card; when downed in Ghosts n Skulls, players were given their original weapon • Various map and backend fixes for multiplayer and zombies 9/12/17 Playlist Update - XP events live now until Monday, 9/18 • 2X Keys is now live on PS4, regardless of whether you own DLC 4 • 2X Keys, 2X Weapon XP, 2X Mission Team XP, and 2XP is now live in all DLC 4 playlists, including The Beast from Beyond 9/7/17 Playlist Update • Removed Mayhem as the featured mode and replaced it with Epic Gun Game (until 9/15) • Added a FREE DLC Moshpit playlist featuring Renaissance, Turista, and Permafrost (until 9/12) • 2XP and 2WXP is live across multiplayer and zombies (until 9/12)See heads get crushed and live-ammo fingerguns in Call of Duty: 'Gesture Warfare'Sep 25, 2017 - PC GamerCall of Duty: Infinite Warfare hasn't proved the most popular installment in the long-running shooter series of shooters, but over this past weekend it introduced what may be the best CoD featured mode of all time. It's called "Gesture Warfare," and no, it doesn't mean you get to flip people off when they kill you. It's even better. Basically, instead of killing people with your guns, you kill them with your fingers. You can crush their heads, Kids in the Hall-style, you can pop them, you can flick them, you can wave them away, and of course you can just plug them with the ol' finger gun, too. There were nine different gestures to choose from, each with its own unique (and uniquely ridiculous) name and infliction of death. * Head Crush; * Bang Bang; * Boom; * You’re Dead; * Crush; * Jackal Toy; * R-C8 Toy; * Light It Up; * Flick; Gestures cycle automatically when a kill is scored, and conventional weapons remain available for use as well. "We want you to play how you want, but with the option of using gestures and the normal combat you’re used to," Infinity Ward explained on Reddit. "Also, different gestures have different times to kill, so you’ll still be able to be effective when you get caught in surprise combat situations." It's obviously not something that most people would want to play all the time, but absurd modes like this can be a blast in small doses (I had a riotous week with Catch the Chicken back in the day) and they really help keep online games fresh, too: The more there is to do, the more people are likely to keep paying attention. The Gesture Warfare featured mode was only available over the weekend, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it return someday. 9/6 - UpdateSep 6, 2017 - Community Announcements**General Fixes** • Infected: Reduced the move speed of the infected as the number of those infected increases (every 3 players that get infected will reduce the move speed and only takes effect on spawn) • Added the Stallion .44, Atlas, G-Rail, and Raijin-EMX to Gun Game • Exploit fixes across various maps • Various backend bug fixes • VPR: Hip fire kick has been increased to help make it perform inline with other SMGs • R3K: Burst cooldowns have been decreased to help it compete better with other ARs9/6 - UpdateSep 6, 2017 - Community Announcements**General Fixes** • Infected: Reduced the move speed of the infected as the number of those infected increases (every 3 players that get infected will reduce the move speed and only takes effect on spawn) • Added the Stallion .44, Atlas, G-Rail, and Raijin-EMX to Gun Game • Exploit fixes across various maps • Various backend bug fixes • VPR: Hip fire kick has been increased to help make it perform inline with other SMGs • R3K: Burst cooldowns have been decreased to help it compete better with other ARs8/23 - UpdateAug 23, 2017 - Community Announcements8/23/17 General Fixes and What’s New • New weapons: Atlas (LMG) Raijin-EMX (SMG) • New taunts, camos, emblems, calling cards • Various map fixes • Enabled Bugle audio gesture to be heard by teammates • Weapons adjustments: G-Rail (base) and Vortex (common) - Extended damage ranges, making the base fire mode and charge shot more effective at long range G-Rail: Helix – Adjusted damage ranges to make the weapon more competitive at close range (if you are accurate) G-Rail: Fusillade – Fixed an issue with camos not appearing properly Stallion .44 – Slightly lowered akimbo rate of fire Stallion .44: Peacekeeper – Adjusted the aim assist range to help with longer distance shooting Fix for the Desert camouflage challenge not tracking progress properly with the Stallion .44 Proteus: Ice – The Glacial passive now has a slightly stronger effect Zombies • Shaolin Shuffle – Fix for an extreme graphical error that would occur when fighting the Rat King • Miscellaneous performance and bug fixes8/23 - UpdateAug 23, 2017 - Community Announcements8/23/17 General Fixes and What’s New • New weapons: Atlas (LMG) Raijin-EMX (SMG) • New taunts, camos, emblems, calling cards • Various map fixes • Enabled Bugle audio gesture to be heard by teammates • Weapons adjustments: G-Rail (base) and Vortex (common) - Extended damage ranges, making the base fire mode and charge shot more effective at long range G-Rail: Helix – Adjusted damage ranges to make the weapon more competitive at close range (if you are accurate) G-Rail: Fusillade – Fixed an issue with camos not appearing properly Stallion .44 – Slightly lowered akimbo rate of fire Stallion .44: Peacekeeper – Adjusted the aim assist range to help with longer distance shooting Fix for the Desert camouflage challenge not tracking progress properly with the Stallion .44 Proteus: Ice – The Glacial passive now has a slightly stronger effect Zombies • Shaolin Shuffle – Fix for an extreme graphical error that would occur when fighting the Rat King • Miscellaneous performance and bug fixes7/28/17 - Playlist UpdateJul 28, 2017 - Community Announcements7/28/17 Featured • Prototype Drop Zone, now until August 4th General Fixes • G-Rail – Fusillade: Fix for the Overload passive triggering incorrectly. You’ll now only get an explosion if the kill was made while the weapon was at full charge • G-Rail - Base & Vortex: Extended damage ranges, making the base fire mode and charge shot more effective at long range • G-Rail – Helix & Enigma: Increased charge bonus, making charged shots a bit more reliable • Various map fixes7/28/17 - Playlist UpdateJul 28, 2017 - Community Announcements7/28/17 Featured • Prototype Drop Zone, now until August 4th General Fixes • G-Rail – Fusillade: Fix for the Overload passive triggering incorrectly. You’ll now only get an explosion if the kill was made while the weapon was at full charge • G-Rail - Base & Vortex: Extended damage ranges, making the base fire mode and charge shot more effective at long range • G-Rail – Helix & Enigma: Increased charge bonus, making charged shots a bit more reliable • Various map fixes7/25/17 - UpdateJul 25, 2017 - Community Announcements7/25/17 What’s New • New Weapons: Stallion .44 (pistol) and G-Rail (AR) • New Calling Cards, Camos, Weapon Accessories, and Gestures General Fixes • Fix for the Proteus and ERAD shotgun alternates not tracking towards contract challenges • Fixed a bug on all hybrid sights on SMGs losing hip fire reticles when switching between hybrid sight modes • Allow players to gain access to the M.2187 and Proteus summer variants via supply drop and allow for that variant to unlock the base weapon • Fix for scrolling issues while in the Mark II Collection menu of the Quartermaster • Fix for a bug that would cause the screen resolutions on PC to not refresh when resizing the game window • Fixed a bug where calling cards earned in SP would appear in the After Action Report in MP with placeholder images7/25/17 - UpdateJul 25, 2017 - Community Announcements7/25/17 What’s New • New Weapons: Stallion .44 (pistol) and G-Rail (AR) • New Calling Cards, Camos, Weapon Accessories, and Gestures General Fixes • Fix for the Proteus and ERAD shotgun alternates not tracking towards contract challenges • Fixed a bug on all hybrid sights on SMGs losing hip fire reticles when switching between hybrid sight modes • Allow players to gain access to the M.2187 and Proteus summer variants via supply drop and allow for that variant to unlock the base weapon • Fix for scrolling issues while in the Mark II Collection menu of the Quartermaster • Fix for a bug that would cause the screen resolutions on PC to not refresh when resizing the game window • Fixed a bug where calling cards earned in SP would appear in the After Action Report in MP with placeholder imagesCall of Duty’s Playerbase is Down 76% from Last Year on SteamNov 6, 2016 - GitHypWhen will Call of Duty finally ride off into the sunset? It’s a question that gamers who can’t stand the repetitiveness of the series debate every year with those who still can't get enough and a question that surely keeps Activision’s investors up all night worrying around this time every year.
Now, based on player and viewer counts, it looks like this year’s latest installment in the franchise might be the answer to that question as the king of shooters has taken its biggest hit yet while going up against other newly released heavy-hitters such as Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2.
While sales have been on a constant decline year after year, Call of Duty: Black Ops III did surprisingly well last year ranking as high as #4 on Steam with a peak of 63,681 players during its big launch weekend. Black Ops III also peaked at 190k viewers on Twitch which made it #1 for 2 days in 2015.
[caption id="attachment_215705" align="aligncenter" width="771"]
Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015) Player Count Launch Numbers via GitHyp[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_215704" align="aligncenter" width="771"]
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016) Player Count Launch Numbers via GitHyp[/caption]
This year’s Call of Duty? Not so well, only pulling in a peak of 15,280 players and failing to even break the top 20 on Steam at #27 over the course of its launch weekend. Viewer counts have also been half of what they were last year with Infinite Warfare peaking at 101k viewers on Twitch.
Looking at Black Ops III now, we can see that it has suffered a large player drop-off with the game most recently averaging around 5k players per hour. Infinite Warfare isn’t doing much better right out of the gates, averaging only 10k players per hour over its launch weekend.
With last year’s Call of Duty losing 86% of its playerbase one year later, there might only be a couple thousand PC players left playing Infinite Warfare on Steam come this time next year and its likely only going to get worse for next year's fourteenth installment in the series based on the current numbers.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015) Player Count Launch Numbers via GitHyp[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_215704" align="aligncenter" width="771"] Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016) Player Count Launch Numbers via GitHyp[/caption]
This year’s Call of Duty? Not so well, only pulling in a peak of 15,280 players and failing to even break the top 20 on Steam at #27 over the course of its launch weekend. Viewer counts have also been half of what they were last year with Infinite Warfare peaking at 101k viewers on Twitch.
Looking at Black Ops III now, we can see that it has suffered a large player drop-off with the game most recently averaging around 5k players per hour. Infinite Warfare isn’t doing much better right out of the gates, averaging only 10k players per hour over its launch weekend.
With last year’s Call of Duty losing 86% of its playerbase one year later, there might only be a couple thousand PC players left playing Infinite Warfare on Steam come this time next year and its likely only going to get worse for next year's fourteenth installment in the series based on the current numbers.
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