By: Charlon Muscat

The gaming world recently experienced a wave of frustration among fans of the iconic Call of Duty series.

An update to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – one of the most popular titles in the first-person shooter genre – introduced a significant bug, particularly affecting the cruise missile feature. This issue has led to widespread disappointment among players, with numerous complaints about glitches such as being unable to steer missiles (resulting in wasted resources and kill streaks) and others veering off course or hitting random locations.

A Deep Dive into the Call of Duty Legacy

Since its inception in 2003, the Call of Duty franchise has created a legacy spanning over two decades, with over 400 million copies sold worldwide. It’s a series that has defined a genre and continually pushed the boundaries of storytelling, gameplay mechanics, and multiplayer experiences.

Over the years, the brand has expanded its universe with various sub-series, as follows:

• Call of Duty (2003) – The debut game developed by Infinity Ward. Thanks to it, the series quickly established a reputation for historical accuracy and compelling gameplay.
• Call of Duty 2 (2005) – Building on the success of its predecessor, this sequel offered perspectives from the Red Army, British Army, and United States Army. Its release broadened the franchise’s reach, including versions for mobile phones.
• Call of Duty 3 (2006) – Developed by Treyarch, this instalment was notable for being the first significant series entry not handled by Infinity Ward.
• Call of Duty: WWII (2017) – This game focused on the European theatre of World War II and offered an intensely personal narrative set against the backdrop of Operation Overlord.
• Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021) – It introduced the concept of special forces forming to counter an emerging post-war threat. Sledgehammer Games led its development.

The Modern Warfare Series:

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) – A revolutionary title that transitioned the series from World War II to modern-day conflicts.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) – It expanded on the modern warfare theme, continuing the story of iconic characters like Captain Price.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) – The third instalment in the Modern Warfare arc explores a fictional Third World War.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) – A series reboot that offered a darker, more realistic perspective on modern warfare.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) – A sequel that continued the storyline while expanding multiplayer and introducing new gameplay elements.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) – A story that unfolds the narrative of Task Force 141, a global special operations team, in their pursuit of Vladimir Makarov.

Black Ops Series

From Call of Duty: World at War (2008) to Black Ops Cold War (2020), this arc spans the Cold War’s espionage and the Vietnam War to futuristic settings and alternate histories.

Standalone Titles

• Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013) – It introduces players to the devastated United States through the eyes of the Ghosts, an elite special forces unit battling a newly emerged, technologically superior global power. The game is notable for its post-apocalyptic narrative, dynamic maps, and the introduction of a canine companion who assists in combat.
• Advanced Warfare (2014) – The story centers around a powerful private military corporation and explores themes of power and corruption.
• Infinite Warfare (2016) – It takes the franchise to the final frontier — space — offering aerial combat in zero-gravity environments alongside the traditional first-person shooting gameplay. The narrative focuses on the conflict between Earth’s United Nations Space Alliance and the Martian Settlement Defense Front.

The series also had an impact across other sectors. CryptoLogic, emulating the success of competitors such as Pragmatic Play and NetEnt in top mobile casinos, launched a video game-themed slot, ‘Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.’ Likewise, the brand made its presence in the fashion industry by launching a range of apparel, including T-shirts, caps, and tracksuits.

Cruise Missile Glitch Sparks Player Outrage

The game’s latest patch, released on February 21, was intended to enrich the gaming experience. However, it inadvertently made the cruise missile, a reward for achieving a six-enemy kill streak, almost unusable. Players have reported an inability to control it, leading to wasted opportunities and mounting player frustrations. The feedback from the community has been swift, with numerous players voicing their dissatisfaction across various platforms, including social media and forums like Reddit.

“It’s been broken for a few days and I wasted 10 cruise missiles because of it.”

 “Every time I get my predator missile kill streak, I launch it and then I can’t steer it and it just hits some random place off the map.”

Quality Assurance in Focus

This situation underscores a broader challenge within the industry: the importance of thorough testing and quality assurance before releasing updates. Activision, the game’s developer, has been made aware of the issue and is presumably working on a fix. However, the incident serves as a reminder of the potential consequences of updates that do not undergo extensive review processes.