The announcement of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was met with almost total disdain when it was released over YouTube last year, reaching over 1 million dislikes in a few short hours and coming in second behind Justin Bieber's "Baby," as one of the most disliked videos in YouTube history. Yet, when Infinite Warfare did actually release, it was reviewed as being moderately underwhelming, leading one to wonder what prompted the extreme backlash to an otherwise mediocre title.
The answer comes not from Infinite Warfare itself, but instead from the marketing practices of the game's publisher. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare would include a copy of the immensely coveted Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered as a bonus, but only for pre-ordering the legacy edition. The game would not be available in any other way.
Until today, anyway. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered will launch on June 27 for the PS4 and later for the Xbox One and PC.
Although the above video hasn't quite received the same level of heat that greeted Infinite Warfare, there's definitely been some negative reception. As one the most popular installments of the series, many players feel that releasing Modern Warfare Remastered nine months after seemingly marketing it as a unique purchase with IW borders on manipulating the game's fans.
Others have pointed out that the release of Remastered will not include the game's original DLC, which may even arrive as an additional purchase down the line. This, combined with a general dislike of the Call of Duty franchise in general, has resulted in a perfect storm; Activision has bungled what should have been one of the most popular releases of the studio's history.
For those not sharing in the general hostility towards the game, you can find more information about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered on the game's website.
