Microsoft recently put some of the old Call of Duty games on sale, and that’s sent at least two of them to the top of the UK monthly best-selling charts. According to GamesIndustry.biz, Black Ops 2 (2012) and Modern Warfare 2 (2009) hit the number 4 and 5 spots on the chart last month thanks to a combination of the Xbox Ultimate Game Sale and having their matchmaking functions fixed on Xbox Live. While it’s not news that more people will buy games when they’re on sale, I think it’s rather telling that two 10+ year-old games are topping the charts again the moment they become playable online.

You probably already know where I’m going with this, but still I feel it needs saying. Isn’t it kind of sad that the AAA industry is in such a bad state that gamers are flocking to games that should be practically ancient by modern standards? I mean, shouldn’t the current Call of Duty games be so good that fans wouldn’t even dream of going back to the old stuff? Shouldn’t the systems, game feel, progression paths and scope be so much more in the modern stuff? I think it should, but it absolutely isn’t. Modern gaming has regressed massively in many respects over the past decade, and players preferring the older stuff is further proof of it.

We all know that game development is a long and difficult process, and we all get that not every game can be head and shoulders over what came before. However, a Call of Duty game made in 2022 should absolutely be better than one made in 2009. Sure, the new stuff as prettier visuals, but visuals are practically nothing compared to important things like gameplay, game feel, content and the scope of things players can do. In these respects, the big AAA titles have been steadily getting worse and worse (thanks in large part to exploitative Games as a Service practices).

I would hope this would be something of a wake-up call to the likes of Activision, but that’s almost certainly wishful thinking.

---

How do you feel about all this? Think we’ll see any meaningful change any time soon?

Image is official promotional artwork