Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Confirms Lionel Messi and Other Soccer Stars as Operators

By Cade Onder

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will be adding soccer stars such as Lionel Messi to the game in the coming weeks. The Call of Duty series has become increasingly less realistic (not that it was very realistic in the first place) as it tries to find ways to monetize itself. Taking inspiration from Fortnite, the franchise began to embrace really outlandish crossovers which resulted in characters like Ghosface, Jigsaw, Frank the Rabbit, Rambo, and more all making their way into the franchise. It's all a bit goofy and when coupled with other things like the Godzilla vs King Kong event, it shows that Activision is really keen to find ways to keep players engaged. It's working and it seems like that's only going to continue.

One of the stranger crossovers we've seen to date will be coming soon to Call of Duty. Soon, renowned soccer players Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Paul Pogba will all join Call of Duty: Mobile, Modern Warfare II, and Warzone 2 as operators. That means you can run around and stab, shoot, and teabag people as Messi. Does it make a lot of sense? No, not really. Is it hilarious? Absolutely and it should provide a lot of fun. No release date has been given for these characters, but they'll likely arrive with season one on November 16th. Whether they'll be part of the game's battle pass or some kind of DLC bundle remains to be seen, but if it's the latter, it will likely be quite pricey and they may even be sold separately. 

Nevertheless, this shows the kind of reach Call of Duty has. The fact that they can snag three of the best athletes in the world as playable characters in a violent military shooter shows that the series can really get whatever it wants. It's a great starting point for this year's entry and only sets the tone for future crossovers coming to the game in the coming months.

What do you think of the crossover? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

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