Written byGuest Contributor
The 2020 release of Activision’s Call of Duty: Warzone sparked a passionate fanbase eager to take part in the post launch content. However, there’s been one thing fans have been asking for that no one saw coming; the removal of a somewhat “cringey” Urzikstan introduction.
The intro video was released as part of the Warzone launch trailer, and goes into detail about the allotted backstory for this new in-game setting. The piece details how the fictional Islamic middle-eastern state of Urzikstan was recently brought into conflict with a global superpower after a terror attack. However, fans have taken issue with the overly simplistic and sometimes clumsy way in which the background of the Urzikstan situation is framed.
This is especially true around its characterizations of the Urzikstan citizens and their claimed cultural values. As one fan put it, “There’s so much about the history of this state and the characters that just feels like it was written by people not from here. It’s a great concept, but its ham-fisted execution is painful to watch”.
Plenty of other members of the Warzone community expressed similar opinions. They expressed that as a vehicle for narrative, the brief introduction has left the world of Urzikstan feeling shallow and uninspired as opposed to the columns of extensive and detailed history that games like Red Dead Redemption 2 render in impressive detail. This has caused some to question the motives of Activision in choosing to create such a characteristically loaded narrative.
It’s not all bad though, as many fans have rallied to defend the introduction. Their arguments revolve around the need for the more subtle tale of Urzikstan as a way of ensuring the lacuna of understanding that accompanies such a complex historical situation isn’t fully realized. The idea is that by keeping the narrative of the intro video obfuscated, the player would be able to develop their own relationship with the in-game understanding of Urzikstan, a relationship that’s more personal and immersive.
Whether Activision will heed the cries of their fanbase and move to remove the Urzikstan introduction remains to be seen. All it takes is a quick scroll through the Warzone forum to realize how integral the game’s fan base is to the experience as a whole. It’s almost certain Activision will be keen to appease their most dedicated followers first and foremost, and if the cri the cries of their fanbase come through, the intro video may soon be a thing of the past.
