Call of Duty's huge sales numbers don't mean players are completely happy with the game. Issues such as the way Black Ops Cold War handled its integration with the free-to-play battle royale spinoff Warzone and the removal of popular features from the previous installment (namely the gun-mounting mechanic from 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare) have players hoping that 2021's inevitable Call of Duty sequel can right some of those wrongs.
Rumors are already abuzz about what 2021's Call of Duty might entail. Various outlets have reported the game is likely to be a return to a World War 2 setting, though specifics beyond that are still unknown. But regardless of what form this year's new Call of Duty takes, it will need to learn lessons from its predecessors if it wants to be a successful new entry in the franchise.
As the first Call of Duty title on the new console generation, perhaps it should have been expected Black Ops Cold War wouldn't quite nail everything it needed in order to live up to the sky-high expectations set by Modern Warfare. This year's Call of Duty can use the opportunity to learn from Black Ops Cold War's mistakes and, ideally, push the franchise forward with the power of the new consoles behind it. There are three major improvements Call of Duty 2021 can make over Black Ops Cold War: better integration with Warzone, the return of the popular gun-mounting mechanic from Modern Warfare, and improved audio.
Call of Duty 2021's Warzone Integration Should Be Better
Perhaps one of the biggest gripes players have had with Black Ops Cold War is its forced integration with Warzone. The idea for integration between the two games sounds great on paper. The free-to-play Warzone would receive new weapons, characters, and vehicles themed around Black Ops Cold War, regardless if players owned the latest game. Unfortunately, the way the two games became intertwined didn't work out so well in practice.
Black Ops Cold War and Warzone are two different games, with subtle mechanical and visual differences across each title. Bringing new guns into Warzone from Black Ops Cold War isn't as simple as copying and pasting it into a new game. Each new weapon needs to be completely rebalanced for Warzone, which has led to some frustrating experiences for players, as many Black Ops Cold War weapons were initially way overpowered. Even more confusing was the introduction of multiple versions of the same gun. Warzone features two versions of the AK-47, for example, one from Modern Warfare and one from Black Ops Cold War.
It's currently unclear if 2021's Call of Duty will feature some kind of integration with Warzone, but if it does, it needs to be done in a better and less confusing way than with Black Ops Cold War. Simply having the new game run on the same engine as Warzone and featuring the same mechanics would go a long way.
Call of Duty 2021 Needs Gun-Mounting & Better Audio
Speaking of mechanics, gun-mounting absolutely should make a comeback in Call of Duty 2021. It is probably the biggest new addition to Call of Duty's tried-and-true gameplay since the introduction of sliding, and players of Modern Warfare and Warzone have become attached to the mechanic. It was notably absent in Black Ops Cold War, so bringing it back seems like a no-brainer, especially as it's still a prominent mechanic in Warzone.
Modern Warfare set a high-bar for audio in a Call of Duty game, with incredibly realistic weapon sounds and great spatial audio. Black Ops Cold War, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. Fans have done countless audio comparison videos between the same weapon in both games, and Modern Warfare simply sounds better across the board. The next Call of Duty needs to step up its game in the audio department and take a page from Modern Warfare's playbook.
Time will tell what Call of Duty 2021 looks like, but it would be wise to learn these lessons from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Better integration with Warzone, the return of the game-changing mounting mechanic, and improved audio fidelity would go a long way towards making the latest Call of Duty also one of the greatest.
