Will fans go for a new ‘sci-fi’ Call of Duty that is more like Halo?

The makers of Call of Duty have always prided themselves on the realism of their military first-person shooter games. But in a quest to provide jaded gamers with something different, the new game that the Infinity Ward studio unveiled today — Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare — takes the series into space.

Activision still insists that this new Call of Duty is not pure “sci-fi” and that its projections of the future are grounded in reality, and the publisher emphasizes that it will have “boots on the ground” combat. But fans may rightly question whether their game is becoming too much like Microsoft’s Halo sci-fi series, where players can jump huge distances, fire powerful weapons that don’t currently exist, and pilot space combat fighters in orbit. Has Call of Duty gone Halo? That’s not such a ridiculous question, as billions are at stake — Call of Duty has sold more than $15 billion worth of games over more than a decade.

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The video released today shows fighting in zero gravity in spaceships, combat with giant mechs, and robots that fight with humans. And with such heavily armored and masked infantry, the soldiers seem a lot more like Master Chief than ground infantry troops.

Clearly, risk abounds here. That’s why Activision and Infinity Ward are also offsetting that risk with a remake of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, retitled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered. Infinity Ward is also packing the game with a new version of the Zombies co-op mode. Both of those are targeted at the fans of the core franchise, who may or may not like the sci-fi game. But, again, Activision says that this new take still has elements that classic Call of Duty fans will love.

Electronic Arts is also in the midst of producing another Battlefield game, and the rumors and leaks suggest that the game will be set in World War I. That shows how far apart the competitors will be, if the rumors are correct.

Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Securities, said in an email to GamesBeat, “The Infinite Warfare concept scared me until today. It first sounded like Halo, now sounds like more conventional warfare (human vs. human) with a far future setting. That is less troublesome than a Halo knock off. I think the X-wing fighters will be popular as well, so I’m generally positive. If Battlefield is truly set in WWI, that may be a problem for EA and a boon for Activision.”

He added, “I think including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered as part of the bundles is genius. You get Modern Warfare for $20 or for free if you buy Infinite Warfare plus the season pass, so it’s a no brainer, and a lot of value added in.

Call of Duty: Ghosts sold around 20 million, and Black Ops III has already sold 22 million, but will keep selling through the summer, so will end up at around 25 million, Pachter said.

“Yes, Infinity Ward went from great when Jason and Vince were there to not-so-great when they left. I think Dave Stohl is a really talented developer, and I think that he runs a tight ship, so I expect them to get their karma back, but they need to prove themselves with this title,” Pachter said.

Sartori Bernbeck, analyst at EEDAR, said in an email, “By including a remaster of Modern Warfare in the Deluxe edition, it is sure to draw in many lapsed consumers who have fallen out of the franchise in recent years. This is a great way to re-engage those players and simultaneously provide them a remake of one of their most beloved games while also showing them the new and improved evolution of Call of Duty. With this remaster included in Infinite Warfare, it is very likely that this title will garner the largest opening of any Call of Duty release.”

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He added, “Advanced Warfare began this transformation we’re seeing of taking Call of Duty into the future and making it more of a sci-fi, and Infinite Warfare is taking the next large step. Since modern day warfare can only be used so many times before it becomes stale, it does make sense for the franchise to continue evolving into more futuristic themes.”

And Bernbeck said, “There are rumors floating around that the new Battlefield game will take place in the past (such as World War 1). Going back in time would be the other obvious choice for Call of Duty, but moving into the future allows them to try new gameplay opportunities (with new gadgets, vehicles, weapons, and possibly different gravity settings), and this kind of progress fits in well with how Call of Duty has been evolving over recent years. Futuristic settings also allows more flexibility in storytelling and weapon usage than basing the game off historic events that are well-defined events.”

Here’s the trailer of the game below.

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