‘Tis the season for giving, getting, and aiming down the sights at some twelve year old with a microphone.
With the holidays upon us, Activision has made it clear that Call of Duty players — both those on Infinite Warfare and the Remastered edition of Modern Warfare — won’t have to pay a single cent for their gifts this month.
In an email released to the media on Thursday, Activison confirmed the long-awaited ‘missing’ maps for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered:
“On December 13 players who own Modern Warfare Remastered will receive the remaining six remastered multiplayer maps: Bloc, Countdown, Pipeline, Showdown, Strike, and Wet Work, along with the Hardpoint and Gun Game modes being made available in Modern Warfare Remastered for the first time.”
This is welcome news for players who have had the game since day one, and those who have been waiting for a more ‘complete’ version before buying. When the game first released last month, the available maps were the Ambush, Backlot, Bog, Crash, Crossfire, District, Downpour, Overgrown, Shipment, and Vacant.
[Image via Activision]
Unfortunately, there is still no word on the Broadcast and Chinatown maps, which served as DLC for the original game. But Activision did announce the return of the ‘Winter Crash’ map, which is seen in a trailer below.
Snow maps are always fun, and it’s really great to see how much effort went into these newer maps. Like with the rest of Modern Warfare Remastered, it would have been so easy just to do a basic port — but Activision and Raven went in, cleaned everything up, and gave fans the best remastered version of a game we’ve seen so far.
In a separate blog post, Activision’s Kevin Kelly teased:
“We’ll be running a 24/7 Winter Crash playlist beginning on December 20 that will last through the holidays, and we’ll have more details soon.”
Also in that blog post was news about the following:
Shoot ‘Em Up
Players that have clocked in time on both Infinite Warfare and last year’s Black Ops III will receive a new gun: the prototype Hailstorm – Thunder pistol.
“The Hailstorm – Thunder is extremely shiny (and deadly), and features a three-round burst along with two perks: Whirlwind, which is a fast cycling auto burst that increases recoil, and Focus to reduce idle sway while aiming down sights,” Kelly explains. “So, jump in the game today and equip it in your loadout to show some pride.”
It is unclear if those who played Black Ops III on a previous generation console will be treated to the perk as well. More info on how to obtain the gun is coming in a few paragraphs.
This gun sounds absolutely fantastic, with the whirlwind feature especially standing out. When you’re playing, however, look for many players to try testing it out in their first few sessions, leaving them wide open for a nice headshot.
As harsh as taking advantage of players who are testing their new weapon out may sound, the battlefield is a time where being harsh matters. That is especially true in times of warfare…Infinite Warfare.
[GIF via FOX]
Activision explains that in order to get the Hailstorm pistol, “players who own both Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Call of Duty: Black Ops III and have logged into Black Ops III with a live internet connection and played Infinite Warfare during the offer period.”
What’s interesting about the wording here is that the system is actually checking to see that you’ve logged into both rather than simply going off system data and cloud saves. If you’re someone who traded in Black Ops III recently, then you may be in a bit of trouble…
‘Tis The Season
[Image via Activision]
In addition to the new gun, all Infinite Warfare players also will have access to a new map: Genesis. Well, technically the map is a new-look one, as Genesis (or the Headquarters for the Division of Mechanical Evolution) is getting a ‘festive new look.’
Kelly also wrote:
“There will be a 24/7 Genesis Holiday playlist, ready to spread cheer, goodwill, and high KDRs.”
The high KDRs are a must, really.
On another note, I was admittedly surprised at first that we’re not getting any ‘new’ maps for Infinite Warfare. With how many maps that are being added to Modern Warfare Remastered, however, only getting one revised map makes sense.
[Image via Jake Elman]
But Wait, There’s More
In addition to everything else, Activision is promising gifts for all players who log in right around the time of Christmas. It’s a twelve day streak of gifts, in fact.
“These freebies range from big Salvage and Key bonuses, to winter-themed personalization items, and even winter-themed Common, Rare, and Legendary prototypes! Twelve Days, twelve awesome gifts for free, just for logging into the game. Just remember to log in every day from December 21 through January 1 to get that day’s bonus.”
With the update coming on December 13, I fully expected them to do a 12 day streak starting that day so it would end on Christmas. But, at the same time, I do like the idea of ending it at the start of the new year.
What You Need To Know
First off, major props has to go to Activision for giving fans — regardless of what version of the game they bought — all of this free stuff, even those who may have only bought the standard edition.
Speaking of the standard edition, I need to emphasize this because it will get lost in the holiday fever. Just buying the standard edition of Infinite Warfare is not going to land you the remastered version of Modern Warfare. You need to purchase the Legacy or Deluxe Editions and have the physical copy of Infinite Warfare inside your system to play Modern Warfare Remastered.
The hopes people had of Activision releasing Modern Warfare Remastered as a standalone game for the holiday season seem to be on hold for now, though it is certainly possible that we could see the legendary game show up on the PlayStation Store right around Christmas.
With Activision having the exclusive rights deal with Sony and PlayStation, I would not be surprised in the least bit if PS4 users got a notification one day saying that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered was available for download. How much the game would cost, however, is a different story.
[Image via Activision]
As you might expect, these bonuses are all valid through 11:59 P.M. PST (as Activision operates out of California). While there is no confirmation yet that Activision may do something similar to what Rockstar Games does with their ‘holiday updates’ on Grand Theft Auto Online and keep them running into the new year, expect that date to remain firm until told otherwise.
Players are also encouraged to use the hashtag #TisTheSeason on social media. Who knows, maybe using that will lead to a perk or two of its own…
To keep up to date with the latest Call of Duty news, make sure to follow @CallofDuty, @InfinityWard, and @RavenSoftware,
