Rightly or wrongly, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is now being released as a standalone game next week (27th) for PlayStation 4, with a release for other platforms, likely Xbox One and PC, to follow at a later date.
The game includes the full single player campaign which released back in 2007, featuring updated graphics and audio, alongside the updated multiplayer which offers the 16 base maps. The game comes with a price tag of $40, but does not include the Variety Map Pack DLC that launched in March; this is priced at $15 for the 4 extra maps.
This controversial decision by Activision could have some major ramifications to how well the game sells, as fans are already showing their anger towards this standalone release. Firstly, the cost of the game is seen as too high by many, especially considering it is currently cheaper to buy the Infinite Warfare bundle, which contains the Remaster. The fact the DLC is an additional cost has also put people off; it costs more now than the original map pack cost back in 2007.
The game has also seen the inclusion of microtransactions in a 10 year old game, yet another feature to cause fan backlash, however the biggest uproar is surely that Activision stated in their official FAQ that the remaster would one be available through the ‘Legacy, Legacy Pro & Digital Deluxe Editions” of Infinite Warfare, and that players “must own Infinite Warfare” in order to get Modern Warfare Remastered.
Whether or not this will all come back to bite the company, it’s certainly not looking great on social media right now following the announcement. Personally I always thought they would release a standalone version, despite stating it was only available with Infinite Warfare; arguably many have now been proved right that it was all a smokescreen to make sure Infinite Warfare had decent sales following its own share of fan hatred before release, and the inclusion of microtransactions and paid DLC in a 10 year old game is nothing more than a cash grab, something that is becoming all too familiar in modern gaming.
What do you think about the announcement – are they right to release the game as a standalone, and will you be picking it up for that price?
