World at War Port Rumors Are Heating Up, But Activision Could Ruin It With Hackers Again

I think we can all agree the ports for Black Ops 1 and 2 are a success for Activision. They're printing money, and there is no way executives aren't sitting in a boardroom somewhere saying, "Okay, let's do more." It reminds me of the Resident Evil deal, where the first remake did so well that it opened up their entire backlog and library to redo. The difference here is that Activision figured out they don't have to do a lot. They are not creating ground up remasters or even remakes, they are just ports. They can just port these games to current consoles and call it a day. These are 12 and 14 year old games dominating current games at a fraction of the price, which begs the question: what's next?

Why I think World at War could be Activision's next Call of Duty port

I have a really strong feeling we're going to get Modern Warfare 3, and I've laid out my reasoning for that. But I also think we are going to get a World at War port, and I think we could actually get World at War before Modern Warfare 3. Today I want to explain why that could actually be a problem, because I don't think it's as simple as just bringing back one of the grittiest, darkest, visceral Call of Duty games.

Black Ops 1 and 2 on PS5 are already getting hit by account hackers

Black Ops 1 and 2 are getting infested with hackers, and I think there are two types. There's the fun kind, the crazy modded lobbies, killing lobbies, max rank stuff, the same nostalgia you'd get going back to Modern Warfare 2 tenth prestige lobbies. That's annoying but not the end of the world. It's not even the old goofy stuff like mod menus and super jumps that killed the integrity of the games but was at least creative about it.

What's happening now is different. People are actually hacking accounts. While Activision seems to be trying to keep security tight on the new ports, it seems like there were security issues left over from the original games. When you're just shooting a product out the door and printing money without really buttoning it up or remaking it, things like this happen. Unless there's really hardcore support over the next year or two, I have a feeling Black Ops 1 and 2 are going to end up like their predecessors: hacked to oblivion to the point where the games just fade away.

World at War was "the most hacked Call of Duty of all time"

Now let's look at World at War, which was notoriously hacked back in the day. I would say this was the most hacked Call of Duty of all time. COD 4 was pretty wild too, but World at War was widely seen as genuinely unplayable on the 360 because the hacking got so bad. So if the new ports of Black Ops 1 and 2 can't get security right against current day hackers, what is World at War going to do? How is it going to be any better?

You could argue the second or third time's the charm and Activision has learned what to look for this time around. But the reality is we don't really know that.

Why I don't have much faith Activision will fix the security this time

With how much money the Black Ops ports made and are currently making, the cynical part of me doesn't have a lot of faith they'll be more careful with the next port, because they're going to profit regardless. We've seen them make decisions in the past based on business, and they're a company that answers to shareholders. That's usually where the main decision making comes from at the top when it comes to Activision, so I don't have a lot of faith they're going to shoot World at War at us and do anything extra to button it up and secure it. That may be cynical, but I'm in a fairly cynical stage when it comes to Call of Duty right now, and I have reasons for that. Do I want World at War? Absolutely. Is there a good chance it ends up like Black Ops 1 and 2 down the line? I think so.

The modern Call of Duty community might not want World at War at all

Then there's the community angle. The modern Call of Duty community, meaning players who started with Modern Warfare 2019 or newer and have never experienced golden age Call of Duty like World at War, Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, or even Ghosts and Advanced Warfare, may not want this game. World at War is a very stripped down game compared to literally every other Call of Duty. The streaks were simple, the movement was basic, and the map design was about positioning and strategy rather than constant engagement. The weapons handled poorly, which was a deliberate choice from Treyarch to make the game more immersive. That's what made it special to those of us who loved it, but it's a much slower paced game than not only modern Call of Duty but even Black Ops 1 and 2.

I have a sneaking suspicion that a majority of current players are probably just going to stick to Black Ops 2. They may buy World at War, play it for a couple of minutes, and decide it's too slow to focus on. That's probably not going to be a reason for Activision to not port the game, but it's something that will come up in development meetings if they haven't already, and that pushes me a little more toward Modern Warfare 3.

Players raised on Black Ops 7 and Modern Warfare 4 may not connect with it

I also don't think people who unironically play Black Ops 7 and Modern Warfare 4 can figure out how to mesh with World at War. Those games are built for the modern player, and World at War was not built for the 2021 through 2026 player. That's just the truth, though it's subjective and everybody has their own opinion on it. I think we're getting World at War, but I'm concerned about both the hacking and whether the current audience actually wants it.

Do you think Activision can secure a World at War port any better than it has secured Black Ops 1 and 2, and would today's Call of Duty players actually stick with a game built around World at War's slower pace?