Just a huge announcement has dropped by Call of Duty, generating all sorts of reactions in the community. Some are still buzzing… or we could say the reactions have been all over the place. The official CoD Twitter account tweeted thus: “Mark your calendars 🗓️” while the checklist included COD NEXT, WSOW, and C.O.D.E. Bowl VI. That is a lot of acronyms to unpack, but basically, Activision is preparing for quite a splendid season of events.
And for those who don’t know, COD NEXT is the big seasonal showcase event for Call of Duty. They unveil new games, updates, and all of that glitz and glamour. Last year’s event was supposed to be the world reveal for Modern Warfare III, so expectations are sky-high. Next, WSOW: World Series of Warzone, is considered the highest-tier tournament in Warzone, bringing together all the top-tier battle royale players worldwide. Then comes the C.O.D.E. Bowl, the charity event that supports veteran employment efforts, a very noble cause.
But… this is interesting. Replies to this tweet were really mixed. Seriously, emotions are all over the place. Some players just couldn’t contain their excitement: PrinUniCorn said, “Can’t wait for my very first invite!! 💖💖💖” while iiBIGVON said, “Waiting on my inv🙂.” So, yes, some segments of this community are actually supporting whatever it is Activision has on the docket.
Then… there’s the other side. And it’s loud. User PP_Burnell replied, “Nah I’m good lmao.” Ouch. “What a joke cod has become,” followed SnoozeUs. Ouch, again. And the banter carried on around the cheating front. jmar_dagenius went all out and declared: “THE GAME IS RIDDLED WITH PC CHEATERS!!!! Fuck this shit,” while Xme4ux said, “never want to watch a bunch of cheaters any more: moved on to Battlefield 2042 to practice for BF6.”
Battlefield was yet another recurring theme throughout the replies. Real_Priception said they are marking their calendars for the release of Battlefield 6 instead. Then, Wicked_Dreads thanked the heavens that “battlefield has finally arrived.” So there are those who are clearly disillusioned by the present state of Call of Duty and are now defecting to their alternative shooter.
Then, there were concrete gripes. jean_jp98 simply wants “bring back SOLO,” most likely referring to solo modes in Warzone or Zombies. STLDead laments that “You’ve ruined zombies and it looks like black ops 7 is gonna be more of the same.” YeaReek had a massive rant about losing ranked games through “Dev Error” and subsequently getting hour-long bans.
Some comments were just… weird. callumlyal73631 asked Call of Duty to “make a god damn titanfall game please,” which is sort of like asking McDonald’s to make a Five Guys burger. And GilneyX left a Portuguese comment about what they want for the next Black Ops-a good offline mode and a decent zombies story again.
What we do know for certain is that the community sits at a crossroads. New content and events are exciting but ceaseless dismay comes from cheating, bugs, and gameplay decisions. This announcement is meant to build hype for these big events but certainly brings with it other underlying issues on the project.
What we could see from these events? COD NEXT is probably going to be where the next Call of Duty title (Black Ops 7 rumored) is revealed. The WSOW would be the icing on top of the highest levels of Warzone competition while the C.O.D.E. Bowl teams up with Charity, which is never a bad thing. The question remains whether these events are all it takes to bring back the disgruntled players of today.
Divided community responses mean that there is some work that organizers will have to do with respect to player issues. Events and new content shall always be fine with players, however, players want to get to the root of such issues as anti-cheat, server stability, and gameplay balance. Whether or not these issues get the spotlight at the events or if the events will just be fluff, is something we’ll just have to see.
Sometimes they will pull in one of the largest viewerships ever, given that Call of Duty is still among the largest franchising brands in the world of gaming. But the comment sections suggest that loyalty does have its limits. The community will want exciting, new content, along with a polished and fair gaming experience. Here’s hoping Activision’s watching.
