Call of Duty: WW2 is set to be one of the year’s biggest upcoming games, so how will Activision lure players back? Read on to find out more.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare had soldiers in space, but according to Activision, it didn’t resonate well with players. Call of Duty: WWII looks to take the series back to its roots with gritty, intense gunplay and a completely rethought multiplayer experience.
During the worldwide reveal of Call of Duty WW2 on 26 April 2017, Activision announced that the upcoming WW2 shooter will be released in the UK on 3 November 2017, in line with previous Call of Duty titles (Infinite Warfare was released on 4 November 2016, and Black Ops 3 was released on 6 November 2015).
Sledgehammer Games recently celebrated this fact by tweeting the below image of a huge Call of Duty WW2 poster. The poster was found on Santa Monica Boulevard in Southern California, near to Activision’s HQ.
As with all recent Call of Duty games, Call of Duty WW2 will be available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
As expected prior to the initial announcement, the Nintendo Switch isn’t supported, though there are rumours of a lower spec port. Beenox, a developer who’s been responsible for Call of Duty ports to Nintendo platforms in the past, has allegedly confirmed it is working on something to do with the franchise, but wouldn’t confirm what.
As with previous titles in the Call of Duty series, there will be some kind of PS4 exclusivity once it’s released later this year, although details are yet to be confirmed.
Call of Duty WW2 is available to pre-order on PS4, Xbox One and PC in both digital and physical forms. Those that want to pre-order a digital copy of Call of Duty WW2 can head over to the PlayStation Store (£55), Microsoft Store (£55) and Steam (£45).
Those that want a physical copy of Call of Duty WW2 have more options available. Pre-orders are available not only via Amazon (£48) with its price check guarantee, but also the likes of GAME (£50) and Zavvi (£50).
If you’ve money to burn, the £79.99 Call of Duty WW2 Pro Edition offers the base game along with a season pass, bonus digital content and an exclusive poster if you pre-order it from GAME. You can also pick it up without the poster from Amazon for the same price.
The game, rather obviously, is set during World War 2 and will see gamers on the beach in Normandy on D-Day before battling across Europe in a series of iconic locations from the war.
Watch the multiplayer gameplay demo from E3 2017 below:
Call of Duty WW2 follows the story of the US 1 st Infantry Division as they battle their way across Europe. There will be battles in iconic locations including the D-Day invasion of Normandy as well as the Battle of the Bulge, and we expect more locations to be revealed at E3 2017.
Unlike with the hugely popular Battlefield 1, which put you in the shoes of several protagonists, Call of Duty WW2 will focus primarily on the story of inexperienced Private Daniels, although there is a mission where you’ll take on the role of a woman fighting in the French resistance.
Activision has also confirmed that Transformers actor Josh Duhamel will make an appearance in the single-player campaign as 34-year-old Technical Sergeant William Pierson.
Much like with Infinite Warfare, we imagine a slew of famous faces will make appearances in the game, and we expect more to be announced in the run-up to the game’s November 2017 release.
In an interview with Edge, the devs also revealed that they visited the sites of former battles across Europe to help capture the feel and look of the settings, including a visit to the frozen Hürtgen Forest – so we know there’ll be at least some fights in frosty conditions.
That commitment to accuracy extended to the tech too. The devs said that they learned that tank commanders would modify their tanks by fortifying the side or the front to suit their preferred tactics, suggesting that might be a feature in the game, and that they analysed technical data to understand the weak points in tank treads.
You can now watch the awesome trailer for the campaign story mode for CoD WW2.
First up, classes are gone. Don’t worry though, as they’ve been replaced with Divisions that include Infantry, Armoured and Airborne, suggesting that vehicles may finally be coming to the series.
We also know there’ll be at least one major shakeup to the established CoD formula: no more infinite sprint.
Michael Condrey, one of the game’s lead devs, confirmed the news on Twitter. It’s not too much of a surprise, given the shift to a more realistic tone and the WW2 setting, but it’s yet another sign that this Call of Duty is going to be a little bit different.
That won’t be the only change to the gameplay style. In the above Edge interview, Condrey emphasised that the team are trying to make it feel “strategic and appropriate to the time period, while still maintaining the fun of multiplayer,” and claimed that the game is “more grounded, and more strategic, and I think you’ll find it’s not as fast.”
That will affect the map design, because “the feeling of being able to identify your lanes and threats is so different when you’re grounded.” The multiplayer maps will also follow many of the battlefields from the singleplayer campaign, while also expanding to new battlefronts.
Following leaks from the PC beta, Condrey has revealed to Charlie Intel a first look at the new London multiplayer map:
He also revealed a first look at the new Gridiron MP mode:
Yet another major shakeup to the formula will be the healing system. A hands-on preview from Gamer Pros claims that “there will be no auto-heal anymore, neither in single player, nor in multiplayer,” suggesting that Sledgehammer will likely introduce a support unit like a Medic instead.
Also new is War Mode, a multiplayer mode that aims to immerse the player in iconic World War 2 battles. Featuring team-based skirmishes, players must choose between Allied and Axis and battle for objectives to push back and conquer the enemy.
It sounds much like Operations in Battlefield 1 where a story drives the objectives, and lasts much longer than a standard multiplayer match.
There’s also a new feature called Headquarters, a Destiny Tower-esque social area where players can interact with each other outside of multiplayer matches. While it’s yet to be confirmed, this could be cross-platform, meaning you might be able to see your WW2 buddies from PS4, Xbox One and PC in one single space.
Either way, it’s something new to the Call of Duty series and it’ll be interesting to see how players utilise the online space.
