Giant Bomb Video Game News

Here's the official statement from an Activision spokesperson, which has been going around for the past hour or two:

Infinity Ward’s  Modern Warfare 2 is the direct sequel to  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.  We have focused our attention on  Modern Warfare in order to most effectively communicate the fact that this is the first true sequel in the  Call of Duty series.   Infinity Ward, the original creators of the  Call of Duty franchise, has said from the beginning  Modern Warfare 2 resides in the  Call of Duty universe.  This is reflected in the title’s package.

The whole "first true sequel" thing isn't new, it's the same line Activision's been giving out all along when it comes to all this name stuff. But notice that the statement refers to the game as simply "Modern Warfare 2" on multiple occasions. It doesn't seem like the company is interested in answering the "HEY SERIOUSLY WHAT IS YOUR GAME CALLED" question directly (which is roughly what we asked them), but between the boldness (theirs) of the game's title, the lack of the COD prefix, and the specific reference to it being reflected "in the title's package," it doesn't seem like the name of the game has actually changed at all.

It's not surprising that the game doesn't have as much name recognition without the Call of Duty brand on it, and it's been pretty obvious that Activision was going to have to slap the COD logo somewhere on this box if only to make the connection between casual game buyer who walks in and says "GIVE ME NEW CALL OF DUTY" and confused Wal-Mart clerk a bit easier to complete. I just figured it'd be separated from the game name a bit more, like in a "FROM THE MAKERS OF CALL OF DUTY" bubble in the upper-right or something. Maybe that'll just end up being a sticker slapped on over the plastic wrap or something...

So, in short, we're not changing the name of our game page to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Because until we hear something directly to the contrary, I'm pretty sure that nothing actually changed today.

Also, while we're on the topic, notice anything else funny about the box art? Like, notice anything missing?


If you said "oh, hey, there's no Activision logo," then you win! Kind of weird, right? Like nearly all of the company's other releases, the COD4 box showed both the Activision and the Infinity Ward logos.