Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) was not a remake of the OG MW series, actually it was a reimagination.

Whenever we talk about first-person shooters, we can never go past Call of Duty, because arguably this franchise is one of the greatest in this genre. From simplified mechanics and a breathtaking storyline to outstanding realism and an expansive campaign experience along with multiplayer fun, this series has everything.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released in 2007. | Credit: Activision.

There’s no doubt that the OG Modern Warfare series (2007-2011) is regarded as the best gaming series not only in the CoD history but also in the entire gaming fraternity as well. There were efforts from Activision to reach those heights with another Modern Warfare trilogy starting from 2019 to 2023, but it was impossible to touch that legacy. However, there’s always an evergreen question, “Is the latest MW series a remake or a reboot of the OG series?” The Infinity Ward devs have the answer.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) was a “reimagining”

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was the pinnacle of the franchise. | Credit: Activision.

The latest MW was brought to recalibrate the feats of the OG MW series. Yes, the latest ones have extremely realistic graphics, better multiplayer options, modern settings, and weapons, but hey, there’s a saying: “Old is gold.” And truly, no other CoD title could ever match the legacy of thosegames.

Some people even wonder if the latest bunch of games are some kind of remakes or reboots of the older ones, but that’s not the case. In an interview with GameSlice, Geoff Keighley asked the same question of two or three of the Infinity Ward devs at E3 2019. They stated it’s neither a reboot nor a remake; the recent Modern Warfare series is a “reimagining.”

No, another question arises: why did the developer never try to prolong the series, or why didn’t they make a remake or reboot out of the OG MW series? Answering this, Taylor Kurosak, the studio narrative director at Infinity Ward, said, “There weren’t any real-world stakes left to tell in that world,” referring to the end of the OG series where “nukes had gone off” and “the Russians had invaded the United States.”

He also stated that the developers took the game series from 2011 and made it in 2019 with a “relatable ground based on the world” of that time. Actually, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) was a “jumping-off point” for the franchise.

How good was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) is one of the greatest CoD titles.

It’s obvious that the 2019 Modern Warfare title was never able to overcome the benchmarks set by the OG Modern Warfare series. But the first title of the modern trilogy itself is one of the finest Call of Duty games of all time. That game earned a staggering $600 million in revenue generation and sold more than 30 million copies within a year of its release. Now, why had the game become so popular?

People initially didn’t have any idea if there was any connection between the two Modern Warfare series. So, that curiosity alone created so much hype for the game. However, the game had its own traits to succeed as well. Unlike Black Ops 6‘s highly controversial movement mechanics, Modern Warfare (2019) featured one of the smoothest movement mechanics in the entire franchise. Not only that, fans loved the weapon customization system, which helped them to be creative in their own ways.

And last but not least, MW 2019 featured one of the greatest campaign missions amongst all of the other Call of Duty titles, and that is why the game pulled off an outstanding score of 80 on Metacritic. However, it still fell short of the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which has a mammoth score of 94. As previously mentioned, “Old is gold.”