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11 'Call of Duty' Facts That Every Die-Hard Fan Should Know

Here are 11 things that you probably didn't know about the Call of Duty franchise.

By Matthew BaileyPublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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Recently Activision held their fan-focused Call of Duty XP convention which gave the gaming community early access to the features and revealed how Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare would compare. At the event fans were able to attend panels held by Activision, Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games and look at all aspects of Call of Duty; past, present and future.

The 3 day event showed off Infinite Warfare's highly anticipated multiplayer mode as well as all the additional features that we'd expect to see:

  • New multiplayer game modes along with the fan-favorites
  • New single player locations
  • Zombies are back with DJ David Hassellhoff
  • Vehicular combat and warship command
  • And of course new weapons, classes, abilities and perks

Then when you add the on-site experiences like a Call of Duty VR experience, Nuketown paintball and Zombie laser tag - you've got yourself a great fan-service event for a game franchise that has lost some steam over the years with their annual game release. So thanks to those fans who were able to attend the even in Los Angeles, and those who watched live on YouTube we got to get a taste of what's coming and all the magnificent features we're set to see when the game releases on November 4th.

Call of Duty has been a mega-selling game for several years, and Infinite Warfare looks to continue that trend, but over the years perhaps you've missed some of the games or features so here are 11 things that you probably didn't know about the Call of Duty franchise.

11. There was almost a trading card game

Even though this never saw the light of day, it's definitely something interesting to think about. Upper Deck Entertainment was set to introduce the world to a two-player game that would see players deploy soldiers from your deck and applying action cards to determine how the soldiers would interact with the battlefield. Although there was a decent amount of attention and interest, sadly Upper Deck cancelled the project before it's expected 2008 release.

10. Create-a-class was inspired by a board game

David Vonderhaar admitted in an interview with Polygon, that the create-a-class element introduced in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was inspired by the tile-based game, Carcassonne. Vonderhaar had the development team attempt to create loadouts of guns and skills out of a card based system before evolving into the pre-match menu system we know now. This inspiration would lead to the massive multiplayer overhaul that has become such a prevalent aspect of the online match-making.

9. One player took marathoning to a record setting level

We've all probably had all-nighters while playing Call of Duty, but one player from Australia set a Guinness World Record for his gaming session. Okan Kaya, in November 2012, set the new world record for gaming marathon at 135 hours and 50 minutes. Okan was allowed to take a 10 minute break for every hour of gameplay, and accumulated those breaks for a nearly seven hour nap. During this session, Okan was able to rise to 37th place in the global Black Ops 2 leaderboard.

8. Modern Warfare III Is the Fastest Selling Game in History

No matter what sort of rumors abound as to the decline in sales, Call of Duty has proven to be one of greatest selling franchises in history. The third addition to the Modern Warfare legacy still holds the record for fastest selling game in the first month it was available. Ironically taking the record from another Call of Duty game, specifically Call of Duty: Black Ops with just over 8 million in sales. Modern Warfare III stepped it up and sold 8.8 million copies in its first month.

7. Call of Duty Is a Global Time Suck

Now, that's probably not surprising considering how popular the franchise is in general. Yet, what you may not know is that Activision released statistics of gameplay hours cumulatively across platforms. Gamers have racked up over 1900 years worth of game play - every day - totaling to nearly 3 billion years of playing time. If you compared that amount of time in the real world, we would witness the end of the dinosaurs, evolution, empires being toppled, microchips being invented simply in the time it takes to earn a 27-kill kill streak.

6. There Was an Ill-Fated Mobile Game Port

The Call of Duty franchise has covered nearly every system; from PC to next-gen console, but perhaps you missed the mobile version created in partnership with Nokia's lackluster N-Gage system. The N-Gage mobile gaming system carried a simple first player mode with multiple objectives and could become a multiplayer bout for up to 8 players via bluetooth connection. Considering that most people didn't even know it existed just goes to show how poor its quality was.

5. COD Players' Brains Work Faster Than Other Gamers

There was a research study published in Current Biology, that claimed there was a connection in decision making skills and playing action-shooters like Call of Duty. In the study the researchers noted that the reaction speed in gamers between 18 to 25 years old was much faster if they played Call of Duty rather than strategic games like The Sims. Call of Duty utilizes frantic action and high-pressure scenarios which wound up resulting in noticeably faster decision making through the study.

4. Several Games Never Made It Through Development

While the Call of Duty franchise has released a staggering 15 major titles over the life of the franchise, there were several titles that could have made the list even longer. Four titles in particular never saw the light of day including Call of Duty Tactics by Vicarious Visions which took a more top-down strategy angle. Call of Duty: Devils Brigade would have returned players to WWII for a third-person shooter, Call of Duty: Combined Forces was dropped for cost saving reasons even though it was to be the sequel to Finest Hour. When Sledgehammer Games joined Infinity Ward to assist with Modern Warfare III, they stopped developing Call of Duty: Vietnam.

3. A-List Actors Have Voiced Characters in the Franchise

Lately there has been a much higher rate of Hollywood stars voicing characters in video games than ever before, and Call of Duty is no different. Along with the already phenomenal voice actors we heard in Call of Duty: Ghosts was Brandon Routh (DC Legends of Tomorrow, Superman Returns), in Call of Duty Black Ops 2 there was Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice, Batman) and Sam Worthington (Avatar, Clash of the Titans). Then we can't forget in Call of Duty: Black Ops we heard Worthingon along with Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises, RoboCop) Ed Harris (The Rock, Snowpiercer) and Ice Cube (21 Jump Street, Ride Along) along with many others. Yet most incredible of all is that Jason Statham (The Transporter, Spy) was the voice of Sergeant Waters in the first Call of Duty game.

2. Game Footage Has Been Used as Propaganda

Video game footage over the years has taken a more cinematic feel, but to be used in propaganda is not something you'd expect. Yet in early 2013 there was a video released by North Korea stating that the United States was under siege. The scene depicted was from one of the sequences in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III where buildings were being destroyed. As you can imagine, the North Korean government was forced to take down the video. North Korea isn't the only force using footage for propaganda, ISIS has also used footage from Modern Warfare III (the fall of the Eiffel Tower and attacks from Berlin and Rome).

1. Activision Actually Does Something Good With the Sales

Since 2009, Activision has been putting quite of bit of the sales to the Call of Duty Endowment Group (which they founded). This Endowment Group assists veterans in finding new jobs across the country. Millions of dollars have been added to the coffers and has helped countless men an women readjust to the working world after serving in the military. By 2015, the Call of Duty Endowment has aided more than 20,000 veterans in finding good steady jobs.

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About the Creator

Matthew Bailey

Husband. Father. Gamer. Cinema Lover. Mix it all together, and there I am. I love all things pop-culture and coffee; but coffee is the best.

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  • Artieinfo5 months ago

    Personally, I love Modern Warfare 2 the most. It's a great game and I highly recommend it. Especially multiplayer. I recommend this store because the price is great: https://royalcdkeys.com/products/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-2022-cross-gen-edition-us-ps4-5-cd-key

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