Modern Warfare 4 Will End the Rebooted Story, But There May Be a Ghost Spinoff Loophole

Infinity Ward has confirmed that Modern Warfare 4 will be the conclusion of the rebooted Modern Warfare series, wrapping up the stories of all the characters in that current story. That announcement lands after years of complaints about franchise fatigue in Call of Duty, and it is worth digging into exactly what was said, what was not said, and where a loophole might still let Modern Warfare keep going under a different name.

Call of Duty's Franchise Fatigue Has Been Building for Years

People have been complaining about franchise fatigue in Call of Duty for years, and the numbers back it up. There are seven Black Ops games and seven Modern Warfares. That is a lot of repetition from just two sub-franchises, and there have been two instances of back-to-back sequels in the last few years on top of that, which does not help the sense of fatigue at all.

The last new sub-franchise Call of Duty got was Vanguard, and that barely counts. It was very obviously rushed through development and was essentially a World War II reskin of Modern Warfare 2019, without any real attempt to establish new characters or a new universe. It was just generic World War II assets filtered through the Modern Warfare 2019 engine.

The last time Call of Duty genuinely tried to bring new characters and mechanics with a truly new sub-franchise was COD World War II, back in 2017. It has been a long time since a truly new sub-franchise arrived, and the consequences have been piling up: people just do not care about Black Ops or Modern Warfare the way they used to, following declining sales and dwindling player counts.

Infinity Ward Says Modern Warfare 4 Will Conclude the Rebooted Story

This confirmation comes just a few days after Treyarch suggested they were doing something completely new with their next game, and a few months after credible Call of Duty leakers claimed that COD 2027 would be a brand new sub series from Sledgehammer. Those are topics for another day, and it is worth noting that Treyarch and Sledgehammer's next games are not confirmed to be something new. Infinity Ward, though, has come out and said definitively that Modern Warfare 4 is the end of the story they have been telling and that it will wrap up the stories of all the characters.

They did not say it was the last Modern Warfare game ever, but that is definitely the vibe they want people to take away. On one hand, that is welcome, because it suggests Infinity Ward might finally branch out instead of milking an eighth Modern Warfare game. On the other hand, there is a backdoor loophole worth flagging.

The Ghost Spinoff Loophole That Could Keep Modern Warfare Alive

It is worth thinking about the fact that just because it is the end of this current Modern Warfare story does not mean it is the last Modern Warfare story. There have been rumors floating around for a couple of years that Infinity Ward wants to do a spinoff starring Ghost, and Modern Warfare 4's DMZ mode is already set to continue the story over time. That opens the door to killing off or concluding the stories of the main characters except Ghost, then building both DMZ and a standalone game around him.

To be clear, this is all alleged and pure speculation, nothing confirmed. But if Infinity Ward went that route and called it something other than Modern Warfare 5, it would still functionally be Modern Warfare 5. "I think if they do that and it's Modern Warfare 5, even if it's not called Modern Warfare 5, it's a new Modern Warfare sub series with a Ghost spin-off, that is absolute BS," is the honest reaction to that scenario. It would be the biggest slap in the face, because it would mean acknowledging fans want something new while quietly delivering more Modern Warfare in disguise.

Why Ghost Is One of the Most Overrated Characters in Call of Duty

Ghost used to be a favorite, but that changed after some reflection. Going all the way back to the beginning of the character, there is not much he has actually brought to the table. There is a bit more character involvement and growth now in the rebooted series, but beyond that, it is hard to point to what Ghost has really done to earn a spinoff of his own.

The concern is not that Ghost fans are wrong to want more of him, it is that giving him a spinoff would not be about exploring his earlier years before Task Force 141. It would be a way to stay inside the Modern Warfare universe, even at what would functionally be entry number eight, while pretending it is a new sub series. That is a slap in the face, and it is likely to be an unpopular take among people who have wanted a Ghost spinoff for years.

Treyarch's Vague Tease About Doing Something New Might Just Mean Zombies

Treyarch put out an announcement saying they were going to do something completely different with their next game, which prompted a quote tweet joking "So, no Black Ops 8," looking for engagement. It turned out that Treyarch was likely talking about doing something new and innovative with zombies rather than the core game. The door has not been completely shut, and there has been no actual confirmation from Treyarch that they are not doing another Black Ops.

That creates a worrying pattern: Infinity Ward potentially loopholing fans with a Ghost spinoff that is all alleged speculation, and Treyarch potentially picking one of their favorite Black Ops characters to do the same thing. Neither studio has been definitive, and definitiveness is exactly what is missing from Call of Duty right now.

What a Genuinely New Call of Duty Sub-Franchise Should Look Like

Wanting a new sub series means wanting something completely new, in a new universe, with new characters and new everything, built by Sledgehammer with zero connections or ties to Black Ops or Modern Warfare and no way to crossover with either. Advanced Warfare 2 would also be acceptable. A Call of Duty Ghost 2 would not work, since that project reportedly started as a Modern Warfare game before it was turned into Call of Duty Ghosts.

The challenge to Infinity Ward and Treyarch is to create a new world and new characters worth falling in love with for the next five years or a decade, and only continue that story, maybe as a trilogy, if the community genuinely rallies behind it. The instruction is not to force three games and then reboot for another three just because the first run was popular and the studio needs something to do. Come up with new ideas and be innovative instead.

Advanced Warfare Proves Innovation in Call of Duty Can Pay Off

Innovation is scary, especially with the internet, which is brutal and takes no prisoners, and the Call of Duty community inside that internet magnifies everything. It may not even be possible to make the Call of Duty community 60 percent happy anymore, even with a genuinely good game. Sledgehammer is held up as the one studio that, when finally given the actual chance, risked it all and innovated with Advanced Warfare.

Advanced Warfare gave players advanced movement they had never had before with exo suits, jumping 40 feet in the air, and customization never seen before, down to cowboy hats, sunglasses, shoes, and pants, plus the ability to customize killstreaks. Supply drops are a different story entirely. It was not everybody's cup of tea, but plenty of people look back on it fondly as a special time because the studio stepped out to the edge and committed to it.

Why the Series Should Move Forward Instead of Revisiting World Wars

The stance is simple: no more modern military shooters, and no more World War I or World War II shooters for now either. That does not mean going all the way to a Red Dead Redemption style Wild West setting. It means moving forward, though not the way Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 pushed the timeline 30 or 40 years ahead. The idea is to go past Advanced Warfare, maybe not as far as Infinite Warfare, and get another advanced movement Call of Duty, whether that is the combat loop and movement of Black Ops 3 and Infinite Warfare, or Sledgehammer refining and smoothing out the Advanced Warfare exo suit movement.

There is no interest in the Korean War or the Vietnam War either, since Black Ops has already covered that ground extensively. The preference leans toward an actual future setting, even something like an Infinite Warfare style future campaign, which would be phenomenal from a storytelling standpoint. Someone pushing back with "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence" framing may be right that this comes from frustration with the last five, six, or seven years of Call of Duty, but the question remains: what is there to lose?

What Do We Have to Lose Heading Into Modern Warfare 4?

Modern Warfare 4 is reportedly shipping as is, meaning the SBMM gripes and other complaints the community has raised are simply what players are getting. That is happening against the backdrop of GTA 6 arriving and Warzone having already taken a chunk of the player base, since people can only play one game at a time. Given that landscape, the question of what there is to lose by trying something new with Sledgehammer, Treyarch, or Infinity Ward feels worth asking again.

The closing challenge is for Treyarch to come out and definitively say they are done with the Black Ops series, acknowledging seven or eight games' worth of franchise fatigue and asking for room to be creative with something brand new, innovative and risky. The same challenge goes to Infinity Ward: acknowledge that the Modern Warfare well has been milked to the last drop, commit to no spinoffs and nothing sideways or parallel in that universe, and go to the drawing board for something genuinely new. Sledgehammer, meanwhile, has shown that when given time to actually build their vision, the result is usually special, or gets supported until it becomes special.

If Modern Warfare and Black Ops both finally moved on to something completely new, what would there actually be to lose?