Modern Warfare 2 is more about its characters than "shocking the audience"

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Classic Call of Duty characters will be "more three-dimensional" than before

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) screenshot
(Image credit: Activision)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward says the forthcoming sequel isn't meant to "shock" players, but rather bring a spotlight onto its "more three-dimensional" characters.

In a new interview with our pals at Play Magazine, the developers behind the reimagined Modern Warfare 2 explained how they're taking the focus away from provocation and moving it toward its stories and personalities.

"Rather than trying to find ways to shock the audience, we’re trying to find ways to pull in the audience and make them a part of the conflict between the characters emotionally," said narrative director Jeff Negus. "Emotionally, what these characters are going through is much more interesting to us than shocking the audience."

"We know that the audience has grown and also evolved, and that what flew and what was accepted and what was loved is all absolutely valid," head writer Brian Bloom said. "But there's an opportunity to take some characters that had a little bit more of a decidedly two-dimensional presentation at the time, and yet
still became legendary, and add more of a spectrum, more dimensions to who they are."

In addition to fleshing out existing characters, the sequel is also introducing a brand-new operator to the series: Colonel Alejandro Vargas, a Mexican Special Forces soldier. In our own interview with Infinity Ward, Bloom explained how Colonel Vargas was built under the "specter of Ghost."

At the end of the day, this is still a Call of Duty game we're talking about, but Negus says the team plans to "subvert as much as we can. Take what people like about [earlier games], but also maybe change them around so that what you’re expecting might not be the same thing. Lean into who these people are and create something different."

We'll know precisely what he means by that when Modern Warfare 2 launches on October 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

In the meantime, check out our ranking of the best Call of Duty games and be sure to let us know on Twitter how much you agree with us.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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