The Five Best Theories About 'Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare'

Infinite Warfare may be the next game in the Call of Duty franchise, after gamers spotted it on Sony’s PlayStation Network today.

That was almost certainly a mistake on Sony’s part, but now that the leak is out of the bag, it’s time to start speculating.

The title certainly makes sense, given that this year’s installment is being developed by Infinity Ward. That’s led to a great deal of speculation on what exactly Infinite Warfare could be.

Let’s take a look at the five best theories for what the new Call of Duty entry will be if, indeed, this is it. Most of this speculation comes from the title itself.

Number 1: A Remaster Collection

Given that Infinite and Infinity are nearly identical, and “Warfare” obviously hearkens back to the Modern Warfare trilogy, it’s possible that Infinite Warfare is referring to a remaster collection of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2, and Modern Warfare 3—all games that came out last generation.

Why it makes sense: A lot of gamers would love to have this trilogy on PS4 and Xbox One, especially if it was a serious remaster or, better still, a full remake. It would also be three games for the price of one. It’s possible the older Call of Duty games made by Infinity Ward would also be included, which would give us some much-needed WWII content.Why it doesn’t make sense: I have a hard time imagining Activision releasing remasters only, when their general modus operandi for years has been a new game annually. Could a remaster collection hope to achieve the kind of sales that a brand new Call of Duty would muster? It doesn’t seem likely. A remaster collection should happen, but I don’t see it being the year’s primary release for the franchise.

Number 2: A Space Game

Infinity can refer to a lot of things. But one of the few things we think of as unlimited and never-ending is space. So it certainly fits the title to have Infinite Warfare set in outer-space, which is actually kind of a cool thought.

Why it makes sense: The last game Infinity Ward made was Call of Duty: Ghosts, and a lot of people assumed this would be the sequel to that game. In Ghosts there’s actually a pretty long segment that takes place in outer-space. Infinite Warfare could be the Ghosts sequel, or it could have simply inspired Infinity Ward to go to, ahem, infinity and beyond. Besides, these games are getting more and more futuristic each year, so rocketing off to the stars fits the trend.

Why it doesn’t make sense: Fans have been pretty positive about the changing mechanics in Call of Duty games, but going this futuristic might be a bridge too far. Even Advanced Warfare and Black Ops III were somewhat grounded in actual technology and had a sense of being part of this world. Heading out into space is a bit risky.

Number 3: Time Travel!

My colleague Jason Evangelho came up with this one. Basically Call of Duty meets Timesplitters. Infinite can refer to space, but time is just as endless, if not more so. (Really, when you get down to it, time and space start to blur at the edges.)

Why it makes sense: Every year, Call of Duty tries to top the previous year with something bigger and more bombastic than ever before. Time travel would certainly do that. It would also make for an interesting story campaign and potentially some really neat multiplayer mechanics. We could also get some WWII in this way as well as futuristic stuff since the story could go back in time and forward.

Why it doesn’t make sense: Pretty much the same reason as going into space. It might just be too big of a leap. I liked Black Ops III’s weird, trippy stuff that sent you careening through an almost psychedelic vision of WWII, but not everyone did. I’m also not sure how they would incorporate this theme into the multiplayer, since you certainly couldn’t have the same guns in different time periods.

Number 4: Dinosaurs!

Paul Tassi wanted me to include this one, probably because he’s wanted a Far Cry with dinosaurs, and all we got was woolly mammoths. The fact remains, we need more games with dinosaurs.

Why it makes sense: It doesn’t make sense at all, unless Number 3 happens and we go back in time to the days of dinosaurs. Then again, dinosaurs are super awesome and I’m sure a Call of Duty game with dinosaurs would be loads of fun.

Why it doesn’t make sense: I already told you this. It doesn’t make sense! Who cares?

Number 5: Destiny meets Call of Duty 

One theory I have is more of a wish than anything. I want a Call of Duty game that blends its PvE/Co-Op and PvP elements together similar to what Destiny has done. A shared-world Call of Duty. (Both Paul and I have floatedthis idea in the past.)

Why it makes sense: The word “infinite” could also refer to these various game modes blending together, with your campaign soldier also carrying over to multiplayer, with progression mechanics and customization, etc. There’s also the “infinite grind” in Destiny and the feedback loops that this grind creates, making the game so addictive. I think this would work really well in the Call of Duty setting. Infinity Ward could really capitalize on DLC for this sort of thing, or micro-transactions. It would be a living Call of Duty that didn’t just shuffle off after a year.

Why it doesn’t make sense: A lot of Call of Duty gamers probably don’t want this type of game, with its MMO-ish elements and RPG progression. Activision has to be careful not to alienate its customers. Just as problematic is the fact that this game would absolutely be competing directly with Destiny, which Activision also publishes. I’m also not sure how this would jibe with the yearly-release schedule for Call of Duty games, since the MMO-ish nature of such a game would defy yearly releases.