Whenever we hear “Call of Duty,” we might think of the action-packed campaigns of the original Modern Warfare 2 and 3, endless multiplayer sessions that end with the use of an AC-130 or a Pave Low, or shared adventures in Verdansk during Lockdown times.
No matter what type of player you are, if you've participated in even a single multiplayer session in the last decade, you've probably noticed that customization and skins are everywhere.
Call of Duty trifft auf The Walking Dead
Whether they can be unlocked through game progression or purchased in the shop, Call of Duty has paved the way for cross-overs with other brands with skins, outfits, sprays, weapon skins and more. The most recent interaction is between the first-person shooter and the zombie series The Walking Dead.
But how do such collaborations come about and who benefits from them? We spoke to Clayton Neumann (Head of Franchise at The Walking Dead) and Jon Riva (Content Art Director at Sledgehammer Games).
For Clayton Neumann, the collaboration was only logical. The Walking Dead is about a zombie apocalypse and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 features a reworked zombie mode. In addition, fans of both series show overlaps anyway. For these series fans, two main characters, Rick Grimes and Michonne, found their way into the game.
“There are things that are super iconic in Walking Dead. (…) when you talk about Michonne, you have her katana. When you talk about Rick, you have his revolver and so on.”
Source: Activision / AMC The challenge for both sides was to adapt the IP to fit the style of Call of Duty. Something similar is also known from other cross-overs such as the Messi skin, which had to be redesigned from a footballer to a soldier. This was an easier task for the weapons from The Walking Dead, as they fit well into the existing weapon arsenal.
It gets particularly exciting when implementing the characters in the game. Since free modeling of the characters would be too time-consuming, the actors were invited to Sledgehammer Studios to be scanned and to record their voice lines. The actors' heads were fed one-to-one into the art director's system while the bodies were being finalized.
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Of course, hair and movements have to be adapted to the game. The finished models are then processed until both sides are satisfied. In the case of the Walking Dead event, it probably went quite quickly.
The Walking Dead naturally benefits from the cooperation, because the Walking Dead sequel The Ones Who Live was released at the event and received corresponding attention.
But such cross-promotions are also worthwhile for Call of Duty. These events continue to attract players because there is exclusive content that can be unlocked, as well as special modes or abilities that are only available for a certain period of time.
Source: Activision / AMC Characters like Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj and Lionel Messi may not initially be associated with a war scenario, but the idea is to give fans the chance to play with their stars, idols or favorite characters.
We already know a similar concept from other games. Iconic vehicles like the Ecto-1 or the DeLorean from Back to the Future can be driven in Rocket League, and Fortnite is busy collecting characters from anime, cartoons and more.
There seems to be no end in sight for Activision for now. Jon Riva still sees countless IPs that he would like to integrate into the Call of Duty cosmos, but not all of them work for Call of Duty. But Riva also sees further opportunities in working with AMC, the makers of The Walking Dead.
So it remains to be seen what further collaborations Call of Duty fans can expect. What do you think about cross-over events and skins in Call of Duty? Do you perhaps even have a favorite character that you've always wanted to play in multiplayer? Let us know and discuss in the forum.