Back when Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare came out in 2007, it ended up becoming a hallmark entry in the franchise, leading to multiple spin-off sequels under the Modern Warfare banner and leading Call of Duty on a new course when it came to putting together mega-blockbuster shooters. But even back in 2007, before I fully understood feminism at all, I remember having a question about the game: why aren’t there any women soldiers?
In 2007, the game purported to depict a, well, modern version of the military, in various countries. The game’s story was set in 2011, depicting a just-out-of-reach future conflict involving the Middle East and Russia (in 2016, we can only hope that any future war along those lines stays in the realm of fiction–but I digress). A month ago, the game got re-released as Modern Warfare Remastered, although that remaster wasn’t sold as a separate game; it was only available as an add-on item in a variety of package deals available for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
In spite of that, Modern Warfare Remastered does have its own (small) fandom, mostly made up of folks who liked the original game and have been loyal Call of Duty players in the decade since. Still, since this game didn’t have an individual release, it’s far less accessible to the average person. I mean, you basically have to buy a more-expensive specialty edition of Infinite Warfare to get it, and most people aren’t bothering to do that. In any case, you’d think the announcement that the game’s getting a big update would cause the few fans playing this game to get excited, right?
Not so much. This upcoming December update includes new maps, as the trailer at the top of this post promises, but it also implements an always-controversial gaming feature: micro-transactions. Remastered‘s update allows players to add some cosmetic changes to their character, the guns they carry, and the weapons they wield… all for a price, of course. You can either play the game and unlock those cosmetic changes the hard way through random loot drops, or you can buy them.
Among the available “cosmetic changes” is the option to play as a female fighter. It’s not clear from the phrasing about the update as to whether or not that sort of “cosmetic change” is something that you need to purchase, or wait for it to fall from the sky in a loot drop, or what. I’m hoping that the option to play as either gender is something that is just built into the game on load-out, but it’s not clear whether it’s built-in or not.
What is clear, at least from the forum posts and comments I’ve read so far, is that gamers are very unhappy that the original Modern Warfare game has been “ruined” thanks to the addition of these new micro-transactions, even though these items are completely optional and purely aesthetic and don’t affect gameplay balance. I’ve also seen some misogyny directed towards the inclusion of female fighters, because, sure, why not throw that in too?
I guess I’ll just say that even though this is honestly the bare minimum of effort on the part of the Call of Duty developers, to be including something like this in an update to a remastered version of a game that has a very tiny audience, it’s… well, it’s still something. I have a lot of issues with Call of Duty as a franchise, but back in 2007, this was all I would have wanted. In 2016, my standards are a lot higher. But, hey–this is technically what 2007-Maddy asked for, and now she has it. So, thanks Call of Duty for wishing me a Merry Christmas with this gift, almost a full decade later. You did it.
(via Gamespot, image via Kotaku)
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