Controversy Surrounds the Call of Duty HQ

Article Key Points

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is facing criticism for its short campaign and design choices, such as the open-world Zombies mode.

Fans of Call of Duty are expressing their frustration with Call of Duty HQ, a mandatory hub that occupies a significant amount of storage and features complex menus. Activision's explanations for the inclusion of Call of Duty HQ have failed to satisfy fans, who are demanding either its discontinuation or enhancement.

Call of Duty HQ has been causing numerous problems for fans attempting to install and play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This is the first time that two consecutive Modern Warfare titles have been released, with Modern Warfare 3 following 2022's Modern Warfare 2. In addition to featuring 16 remade maps from the original MW2, this third installment of the Modern Warfare reboot trilogy allows players to transfer their weapons and operator skins from last year's game.

Unfortunately, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has had a difficult start, despite its more promising multiplayer suite. The early access campaign period has received criticism from both fans and critics, being recognized as the shortest campaign in the entire Call of Duty franchise. The Zombies mode in Modern Warfare 3 has also faced backlash, as its Warzone-inspired design does not meet the expectations of fans who prefer the traditional round-based Zombies mode. However, all of these frustrations pale in comparison to the problems caused by Call of Duty HQ. This mandatory hub replaces the application from Modern Warfare 2 and allows players to access Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, and Warzone all from one menu.

IGN highlighted the dissatisfaction of numerous fans on Twitter who are expressing their confusion and frustration about Call of Duty HQ's excessive storage requirements on both consoles and PC. Fans who only want Modern Warfare 3 are now compelled to install the 120+GB Call of Duty HQ. Moreover, navigating through the menus of the HQ has posed a significant challenge for fans, as the majority feel that the menus in Modern Warfare 3 are unnecessarily fragmented and complex. To make matters worse, the recent puzzling 100+GB update from Call of Duty HQ has further worsened the sentiment surrounding the launch of Modern Warfare 3.

Attempts by Activision to clarify the reason why Call of Duty HQ consumes so much space have not been helpful. A significant portion of the Call of Duty community would prefer seeing Call of Duty HQ discontinued, as there is a concern that next year's Call of Duty title will also be launched through CoD HQ, resulting in even more storage space being occupied. However, there are still many who believe that the concept of a unified hub application for all Call of Duty titles is a good idea, but it has been poorly executed.

Activision continues to enhance Call of Duty HQ in order to optimize the player experience in preparation for the highly anticipated launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 this week.

As we approach the full release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 tomorrow, numerous newcomers will undoubtedly encounter the challenges of Call of Duty HQ for the first time. It will be intriguing to witness how Activision addresses these issues for the playerbase, and whether it is feasible to separate Modern Warfare 3 as an individual entity at this point. Given their intention to make significant improvements, it is reasonable to assume that the menu design of Call of Duty HQ would be the initial area of focus for Activision.

Scheduled for release on November 10, 2023, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) by Activision carries forward the narrative of Captain Price, building upon the events of the previous games released in 2019 and 2022.

Platform(s) PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS4, Xbox OneReleased November 10, 2023Developer(s) Sledgehammer GamesPublisher(s) ActivisionGenre(s) First-Person Shooter

Editor's P/S

As a hard fan of Call of Duty, I am deeply disappointed with the recent controversy surrounding Call of Duty HQ. The mandatory hub has caused numerous problems for fans attempting to install and play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The excessive storage requirements and complex menus have frustrated many fans, and Activision's explanations have failed to satisfy the community.

The decision to include Call of Duty HQ has been met with backlash from fans who feel that it is unnecessary and poorly executed. Many would prefer to see the hub discontinued, as it takes up valuable storage space and adds an unnecessary layer of complexity to the game. While the concept of a unified hub application for all Call of Duty titles is a good idea in theory, the implementation has left much to be desired.