IW on how Call of Duty: Modern Warfare re-imagines the series

Since its announcement, many fans have felt confused by 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - is it a remaster or an entirely new experience? We spoke to Infinity Ward's Taylor Kurosaki to discover exactly what the new Modern Warfare game is, as well as find out new details about characters, maps and game modes.

The new Modern Warfare isn't a remaster or sequel, but a complete reimagining of the series. Kurosaki better describes in an analogy:

"Think about it when they reimagined the James Bond franchise and they cast Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. It's a little darker, a little grittier and tougher, but ultimately he's still James Bond."

Comparing the 2019 reimagining to Modern Warfare 4, a game inspired by a post-9/11 world with the Iraq war and tanks roaming across the desert, he explains:

"That's not the world we live in today. It's not as clear cut as that. The lines are blurred and the enemy doesn't often wear uniform. So if you're going to be an operator in today's world, you have to have your wits about you, you have to come prepared and fight in a murkier, more complex world."

Whilst Black Ops 4 disappointed fans with its lack of a campaign, Infinity Ward is bringing the story mode back with returning faces from the original series alongside new characters:

"[Fans] can expect a campaign that really takes its time to delve into these interpersonal relationships between these characters. You're going to really know what it's like to play alongside Captain Price. But you're also going to know what it's like to play alongside a brand new character - her name is Farah Karim. She's a militia commander and you get to see war from her perspective; the perspective of a local on the ground."

Speaking more about the strong female representation the new character brings to the series, he tells us: "Farah is as much as a commander as Price is."

Explaining the pre-production process behind her addition, he said: "We did a ton of research into who is on the front lines in some of these conflict areas and more than ever we see a lot of times that it's female soldiers, whose lives get interrupted and who have to pick up the pieces and decide that we're going to fight."

While narrative appears to be more of a focus, Kurosaki describes the format as familiar to those who loved the original Modern Warfare. It's supposed to be reminiscent but with higher production values, detailing one of the new levels:

"We have some missions that are super huge, very wide, totally non-linear with multi-objectives. Go hot, stay and remain in stealth, or go hot and regain the element of stealth - the AI can handle all of these things. Shoot out lights so that you're even more hidden by the darkness, because again sometimes you're a tier 1 operator, you have night vision goggles. The saying goes that you own the night. You get to own the night in these situations."

We were also told that the game takes place in parts of Europe and the UK and also goes into the Middle East, as you flip between perspectives on warfare between two playable characters:

"There's Kyle Garrick, he's a former British army officer who fights alongside Price to achieve victory in Europe and the UK, like the original game. The other character is Alex, a CIA operative who embeds himself with Farah's militia and has to fight from the perspective of being a rebel."

Kurosaki was happy to announce that some of the original team who worked on the first Modern Warfare's multilayer have come back to the studio:

"They want to revolutionise it again, as they did back with the original game. You're going to see a lot of stuff that's very familiar, but you're also going to see some new stuff that's going to - if the playtesters we had in are any indication - blow your mind."

He also promises fans a seamless experience across all game modes: "The weapon feel is the same across the modes, killstreaks you can use in multiple modes. You should feel like you're gaining experience in the game as a whole no matter what mode you're playing."

As for returning modes and gameplay, we're also told there will be a full co-op mode: "What I can say is the co-op mode is a return to Spec Ops, but in the same way we are taking everything you loved about the original series and making it an entirely brand new experience which resets your expectations."

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare releases October 25 on PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One.