Call of Duty is a game that has no fear when it comes to exploring the stark realities of war, in their many forms. And tragically, human history offers a lot of stages for each new Call of Duty installment to play on. I decided to explore some of them and speculate a bit on what they could look like, if the franchise veered in their direction. Spoiler alert, most of my ideas are very American-oriented. I did not plan it that way, it just happened.
The Civil War
Though it’s been made before, a Civil War game could definitely be exciting. Call of Duty has never had a Civil War setting, and I think they should get on that. Choosing between the North or South – and having different storylines depending on your choice – offers a lot of dramatic possibilities. Not to mention the unavoidable history and morality lessons players will get in the process.
Another interesting idea could be a futuristic Civil War. I don’t even know where to begin with the plot for this theoretical Call of Duty title, since the possibilities are basically endless. A futuristic timeline opens up the opportunity for new weapons and vehicles, too.
The War of 1812
In case you don’t know, this was a war fought between the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as their allies. Three former U.S. Presidents fought in the War of 1812, making prominent historical figures easy to add to the game’s narrative. There’s also plenty of room for alternative history takes in this setting.
The American Revolution
An American Revolution set Call of Duty would offers players an active role a pretty turbulent time in the country’s history. Though this was touched on in Assassin’s Creed III, Call of Duty has its own way of doing things that would make this a completely different experience.
Once again, the plot the game would be fairly easy to make, as there are many prominent historical figures from that time that could be included. The American Revolution lasted for seven years, giving game developers more than enough to build a game out of.
World War II
Hear me out: not your average World War II game, but one that follows WWII conspiracy theories and legends. Perhaps a Call of Duty game in which the player follows clues based on the theory that Hitler managed to escape and is still alive. The player would follow leads of possible sightings all over the world, while also finding notorious Nazi war criminals along the way.
A game exactly like this hasn’t been made, and it could make for an interesting alternate history ending to World War II. We’ve seen Wolfenstein tackle the idea that the Nazi army had won in WWII, but there are a lot of other possible plots to explore, both in a conventional historic and in a Weird War II Nazi-zombies settings.
And again, Call of Duty just does things slightly differently. Where Wolfestein made sure to stack the narrative thick with personalities and lore, Call of Duty could also deliver on the more competitive FPS mechanics they have been successful with.
