After teasing a global announcement over the weekend, Activision have kicked the marketing train for their fourteenth Call of Duty entry fully into gear, unveiling new details on what’s to come when the franchise returns this November 3rd on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
Dubbed Call of Duty: WWII, the Sledgehammer Games-developed spiritual successor to 2008’s World at War will – in Activision’s words – aim to convey “the story of heroism on a global scale”, presenting fans with a supposedly “gritty, intense campaign” which professes to pack “overwhelming odds and hostile terrain across Europe”, not to mention Transformers star Josh Duhamel’s chiselled features in digital form.
Indeed, Duhamel’s presence represents just one of a number of unexpected twists contained within the teaser trail regarding the single-player storyline, with other surprises including the reprisal of Call of Duty 2‘s iconic Normandy landings; the Apocalypse Now-esque psychological turmoil evidently awaiting our newly-recruited Texan protagonist and his comrades on the battlefields; and the opportunity to gain access to a pre-release private multiplayer beta for those keen enough to pre-order the title.
The news from Wednesday’s hour-spanning livestream reveal didn’t end there, either. Answering a variety of probing Twitter questions from their intrepid fan-base, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg and other members of the WWII development team confirmed COD‘s famed multiplayer offerings will return in full force.
Ranging from the Divisions class system with its myriad perks to War Mode’s challenge of pitting factions in a prolonged conflict over multiple locations, from the sure-to-be brag-laden Headquarters social platform to a co-op campaign once again featuring – yes, you probably guessed it – hordes of undead Nazi foes for players and their comrades to mow down, there looks set to be no shortage of offline and online modes to keep fans sated until the next annual instalment.
Yet while DICE apparently intends to halt its Marmite season pass model for Star Wars: Battlefront II this autumn after the backlash that emerged from its predecessor’s lack of recent content, we’re hearing nothing of the sort on Activision’s part in this instance. Quite to the contrary, a WWII Season Pass has already been confirmed, available for approximately £40 / $50 on its lonesome or as part of two bumper packages set to retail alongside the standard edition.
Indeed, those willing to go the extra mile in monetary terms for their next COD dosage can sleep safe in the knowledge that both a Digital Deluxe and Pro Edition of Sledgehammer’s second full franchise contribution are available for pre-order as we speak, with the former housing the Season Pass “and more” exclusive content while the latter adds a steelbook to the equation for £80 / $100.
Expect plenty more coverage from us soon on Call of Duty: WWII‘s E3 gameplay reveals (we can hear the explosions already), subsequent announcements and the title’s overall prospects amidst the horde of AAA licences making their returns this autumn, but until then, check out the full livestream recap below for further details on what the Second World War holds for players 80 years on.