After about a year of speculation and leaks,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2has finally been officially confirmed, and today, it got its first trailer. Released onCall of Duty’s official YouTube channel, the trailer jams a lot into its short minute and a half runtime. Cutting between cinematics and gameplay for the duration, theModern Warfare 2trailerdidn’t reveal too much, but it has given fans a better look at the game’s story, some returning characters, and just a hint of the game’s tone.
While it’s a little too early to compareCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2to the mountains of rumors and leaks surrounding it, a few story beats do seem to match up with some reputable sources. It’ll probably be awhile before fans get to hear any Warfare’s modes or campaign, but for now, this trailer gives fans plenty to go on, with enough small details to keepCall of Dutyenthusiasts speculating for the next few months.
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An Explosive Opening
TheCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2trailerbegins with a bang, immediately cutting to the player-character falling out of a helicopter, scrambling after their M4 assault rifle mid-air. The gun is hurled away from the player as a red car darts into frame, narrowly avoiding them as motorbikes start to rush past the now upside-down character.
The trademarkModern Warfareflash noise blares, and the trailer cuts, now showing the player-character dangling by the helicopter’s rappel rope. The screen goes black, and when it cuts back in, the player is firing away at a truck’s fuel tank, all while still hanging upside-down. With the truck exploding in a ball of flame and flipping, the player cuts their life-saving rope, and combat rolls onto a truck below - and that’s just the first 10 seconds of the trailer.
Some Familiar Faces
As the titlecard flashes, a voiceover remarks that they’ve “got a hit on Hasan.” This could potentially be Khaled al-Hasan, one of the main antagonists ofthe original 2007Modern Warfare, most well known for his appearance at the start of the game, where he executes the player-character.
Khaled al-Hasan’s presence inModern Warfare 2could hint at the appearance of Zakhaev, as the two worked alongside each other in the original. However, Imran Zakhaev has already come and gone, appearing and dying inCall of Duty: WarzoneandBlack Ops: Cold War. Instead, this could hint towards his son, Victor, taking over the role of main antagonist.
After confirming that Hasan isn’t in Iran, the voiceover asks who they should send in after him, to which the screen quick-cuts once again, this time cueing J Balvin’s cover of Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam,” and revealing Captain Price’s iconic mustachioed silhouette. Kyle “Gaz” Garrick is then shown, soon followed by “Soap” MacTavish, with Simon “Ghost” Riley rounding out the team. Right in line with all the leaks,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2seems to be bringing back all the fan-favorites.
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Some Familiar Places
The trailer then shows the task force assembling inside of a helicopter while Price and Gaz emerge from underwater in another location. Ghost briefs his squad, saying that Bravo Team is getting dropped off here, while Alpha Team waits until they get “downrange.” As the camera zooms in onGhost’s iconic skull mask, he utters the words, “this is capture, or kill.”
Bravo Team disembarks from the chopper, flipping down their night vision goggles, perhaps suggesting fans will see more night vision gameplay like the modes first introduced in2019’sModern Warfare. After a few shots of the squad stealthily making their way through a field, the camera cuts back to Price and Gaz, with the player-character grabbing an enemy from the dock above them, and plunging them into the water below, a takedown that’ll be familiar to fans of the originalModern Warfare 2.
The trailer then switches back to the whole squad, who are now on their way towards an oil rig, presumably at some point later in the game, which is also sure to bring back somenostalgic memories for fans of the 2009 original. The squad then find themselves on the top deck of a cargo ship as they attempt to repel the enemy, all while cargo containers are wildly shifting back and forth.
As the task force opens up a shipping crate, containing an unknown object, they ask where their enemy could have gotten it from, to which the voice over replies “either Russia…or us.” The heavy chorus then kicks in, complimented with the sounds of gunfire and RPGs, all while images of tanks, fire, crumbling structures, and night vision stealth-ops are shown at a relentless pace.
The last 10 seconds of the trailer sees the team ascending an oil rig staircase while a voice shouts, “special forces 141, they are your brothers now,” confirming that this team is theTask Force 141 of the originalModern Warfareseries. The trailer ends with one final line-up shot of the task force, now showing Alejandro Vargas, a new Mexican special forces addition to the team. The words “The ultimate weapon is team” overlay the screen, further emphasizing the game’s focus on its iconic task force.
A Beta is on its Way
The penultimate screen of the trailer shows theModern Warfare 2logo, with the game’s October 28 release date displayed just below it. The logo fades, and big text replaces it, confirming that those who pre-orderModern Warfare 2will have early access to the game’s open beta. This is a pretty standard pre-order bonus for theCall of Dutyseries at this point, with the last few entries all hosting an open beta, and giving those who have pre-ordered the game access to it a few days, or even a week, before those who haven’t. For those dying for a chance to playCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2as soon as possible, this bonus might be even to persuade them to pre-order, but for those that can wait the extra few days, this will do little to convince them.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2launches October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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