Nothing is for certain in the video game industry, and that’s especially true in the current climate, where studios are being shutdown and games are being canceled on a near-constant basis. But one thing is almost guaranteed; there’s going to be a newCall of Dutyentry this year, just as there has beenevery year since 2005.
Nothing’s been officially confirmed aboutCall of Duty’s 2025 entry just yet, but there have been plenty of rumors and leaks surrounding the game. One of the most prevalent leaks is thatCall of Duty2025 is going to be a sort of direct sequel to 2012’sCall of Duty: Black Ops 2, with its campaign allegedly following David Mason on a new adventure. It might feel a bit odd to return to that narrative and setting all these years later, but there’s a lot of potential there, and there’s one particularly promising aspect ofBlack Ops 2that the new entry should embrace fully.
Call of Duty 2025 Should Fully Embrace Its Semi-Futuristic Setting
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Dipped Its Toes into The Realm of Sci-Fi
BeforeCall of Duty: Advanced Warfareintroduced exoskeletons, and long beforeCall of Duty: Infinite Warfaretook players to space,Call of Duty: Black Ops 2dipped its toes into the world of Science-Fiction. While one half ofBlack Ops 2’s campaignfollowed fan-favorite characters Alex Mason and Frank Woods during the 1980s, the other half took place in the year 2025, where tech has advanced quite a bit.
Not set in the distant future,Call of Duty: Black Ops 2managed to keep its tone grounded while still bringing forward a fewcommon Sci-Fi themesand features. Robotic drones, for instance, played a prominent role in the game’s marketing, and appear throughout the game’s campaign and its multiplayer mode.
This semi-futuristic setting allowedCall of Duty: Black Ops 2to feature a wealth of unique weapons and Scorestreaks that were unlike anything the franchise had seen before. From the Dragonfire drone that players could pilot, to the Autonomous Ground Robot mini tank, to the VTOL Warship, most ofBlack Ops 2’s Scorestreakshad a Sci-Fi flair, and that’s something that the franchise may want to return to.
Call of Duty 2025 Should Revisit Sci-Fi
WhileCall of Duty2025shouldn’t lean all the way into Sci-Fi likeAdvanced WarfareandInfinite Warfaredid, a return toBlack Ops 2’s semi-futuristic setting might be exactly what the series needs this year. Not only would this setting pave the way for some creative and unique weapon designs and Scorestreaks, it would also allow its campaign to explore plot points and themes that the rest of the franchise rarely tackles, thus offering a refreshing experience.
It’s also particularly important for this year’sCall of Dutyentry to distinguish itself in some major way. The twoCoDentries before last year’sBlack Ops 6both featured a present-day setting, andBlack Ops 6’s 1990s settingdoesn’t feel all that different outside of the campaign. IfCall of Duty2025 doesn’t embrace its potential Sci-Fi setting, then it could easily end up feeling too repetitive.
