Sledgehammer Games is adding a number of innovations to Call of Duty: WWII that will truly shake up the series – as if the World War II setting didn’t do that already. But there’s one particular mode that could stick around for the long haul, depending on how well it performs.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Speaking with Game Informer, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg noted that one of the new modes in the game, the social-ready Headquarters, could very well make its way to future Call of Duty games if it’s well received enough. After all, without the fans, it’s kind of moot.
“It really depends on the response. It’s certainly something we feel the same way about; you look at it and say, “That could be a new franchise staple.” Certainly, if that becomes a daily habit, if that becomes a behavior that really catches on and the players really love, there’s obvious benefits. It’s much more satisfyingly social to be interacting with people in a 3-D environment than just over a voice and text environment. There’s a lot of fun mini-games, there’s a lot of fun engagement drivers, there’s a lot of rewards for coming back every day, so I think that it’s a very thoughtful and well thought-out design. And then you’ll see what happens when it gets in the hands of players, you know? It’s all theory until then.”
He then noted that he was hopeful that the features would be appreciated, bringing more Call of Duty players together. “So it certainly is one of those that has the potential to transform the way the community interacts with one another. And I think it’s the right… A lot of the innovation debates are making sure that we’re aiming at the right bull’s eyes. Whether or not it succeeds or fails, it was the right problem to take a shot at solving because Call of Duty is a game that tons of people play together, and yet I would argue it’s not a tremendously social experience. Most of the time that you’re together, you’re actually playing, your hair’s on fire, and you’re moving a million miles an hour and your adrenaline’s pumping and so there’s not that sense of ability to really interact in that way we’ve come to be used to in other games. And in other platforms. In social media, and the whole world has become more comfortable socially through digital mediums. And I think it’s an area where Call of Duty can improve.
So I love the shot that we’re taking and I’m really interested to see how it goes once it gets in the hands of our players. There’s every chance it’ll catch on and every chance they’ll be like, ‘The text thing was faster!’ [laughs] We’ll see.”
Call of Duty: WWII releases on November 3rd for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
