Call of Duty Infinite Warfare fails on PC

Martin Brinkmann
Nov 6, 2016
Games
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11

Call of Duty Infinite Warfare is the latest iteration of the popular first person shooting franchise released just a couple of days ago.

The game series focuses on console gaming traditionally with PC versions more of an afterthought. While that has not changed this time around, it appears that the latest Call of Duty game failed harder than previous titles on PC.

Before we take a look at that, there is another blunder that needs to be addressed. Activision Blizzard released the game for PC both on Steam and on Windows Store.

While you might assume that those versions are identical when it comes to core functionality, they are actually not.

Probably the biggest issue of the Windows Store version is that multiplayer is restricted to that version. There is no cross-play with Xbox One nor any option to play against PC gamers who bought the game elsewhere (read Steam for instance).

This is made worse by the fact that Activision Blizzard does not highlight the fact on the Windows Store page of the game. Softpedia notes that the decision to restrict playback to the Windows Store version of the game for Store bought copies was made by Activision Blizzard and not Microsoft.

Considering that Windows Store is not the prime destination for games that are available on other PC marketplaces as well, it seems likely that Windows 10 games will have a shortage of potential players to play against.

A look over on Steam highlights that even clearer. Call of Duty is not in the top 3 of top sellers on Steam currently (it sits at five and six currently in the top ten). Games like Farming Simulator 17, Civilization VI, Transport Fever, and the age old Rocket League lead the charts on Steam.

The simultaneous player count on Steam is also nothing to brag about. While it is led by Dota 2 and CS:GO as usual, the latest Call of Duty does not even make it in the top 20 of that statistic.

Games like Clicker Heroes, Terraria, Fallout 4 or Left 4 Dead 2 all beat the current and peak player count of this blockbuster title.

If you are interested in total numbers, Call of Duty Infinite Warfare reached 15k concurrent players on Steam today which pales against Team Fortress 2's 77k, Arma 3's 37k or Left 4 Dead 2's 19k. Usually, games do better right after release as they are pushed on Steam's new releases page and by being listed in the sales charts.

The game is not doing too well considering that it just came out. CoD is a console game first and foremost, and it is likely that the situation is different there.

User ratings on Steam are mixed right now which usually means an even distribution of positive and negative reviews.

Closing Words

The limitation of the Windows Store version of Call of Duty is problematic on several levels. First, because Activision fails to highlight it on the Store page, and second, because it could create a PC gaming divide if more companies followed Activision's practice to split the PC player base of their games.

I cannot see this being in the interest of the company in the long run as it will make their games less attractive.

Now You: What's your take on the situation?

Summary
Article Name
Call of Duty Infinite Warfare fails on PC
Description
The article looks at the release of Call of Duty Infinite Warfare, especially on version differences between Windows Store and Steam.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. JaeQ said on November 14, 2016 at 11:02 pm
    Reply

    The game stinks anyways… they’ll eventually close out the franchise.

  2. kwilks3 said on November 13, 2016 at 11:08 pm
    Reply

    Activision’s decision to split the PC player base is asinine. It’s already small in the first place due to the fact that they put out crappy ports of their games, and then neglect the people who paid for DLC. I paid $100 last year for Black Ops 3 Digital deluxe version, and to this date, have only been able to play DLC maps maybe 20 times in total. I mostly play hardcore tdm, and they refuse to put a playlist including DLC for this gametype.

  3. andrey239 said on November 13, 2016 at 5:30 pm
    Reply

    I think the community as a whole is tired of the futuristic Call of Duty formula. The last 3 games have been really poorly received, and people are sick of the future setting. I think going back to a modern warfare or ww2 setting would be best.

  4. Lindsay said on November 7, 2016 at 2:38 am
    Reply

    How utterly ridiculous.

    And unsurprising. Microsoft doesn’t seem to understand how NOT to stuff everything up these days. I assume it’s Microsoft’s fault on that basis alone.

  5. winstorfail said on November 7, 2016 at 12:38 am
    Reply

    That’s why never buy games off of Windows Store as it is a closed ecosystem but instead opt. for the full Desktop/PC version out of the box/company store.

  6. Corky said on November 6, 2016 at 4:55 pm
    Reply

    It would be interesting to know if what Softpedia said about it being a decision by Activision Blizzard and not Microsoft was because of technical reason, because if not that would be a huge two fingers up at the Windows Store, if it was for technical reasons though it would interesting to know why Windows Store games (UWP) aren’t playing nice with Win32.

  7. Yuliya said on November 6, 2016 at 2:58 pm
    Reply

    I always loved FPS games, but the “modern” ones which to me seem extremely dumbed down and overly simplistic, designed with the “Ipad generation” in mind, don’t appeal to me at all.

    L4D2, TF2, great examples of multiplayer FPS. Quake, DOOM, METRO, Stalker, BioShock, Borderlands, great examples of (series of) good singleplayer FPS games.

    But this, CoD and Battlefield – the only positive about them is the perspective, which is first person, Everything else is horrible. I can not believe people buy this, or that they don’t know about other better titles.

    1. The Flash said on November 6, 2016 at 3:40 pm
      Reply

      Honestly though, CoD and battlefield games are actually fairly decent. The only really issue I have is that they milk the fuck out of DLC and micro transactions, but multiplayer is still enjoyable though without them.

      And also, who doesn’t like the zombies mode?

      1. toenails4kids said on November 7, 2016 at 12:16 am
        Reply

        Battlefield 1 is a brilliant game IMO,both campaign and multiplayer modes are excellent. I took part in the COD multiplayer beta which IMO was the same old rubbish that was done a hundred times before. Game makers are depressing the hell out of me nowadays. CDProjectRed are an awesome group of game makers (The Witcher 3).This dlc and season pass stuff makes me be extremely selective about what I buy now because who wants half a game at high prices

  8. exxxie said on November 6, 2016 at 2:42 pm
    Reply

    I don’t often play Steam games (my main game is an ArenaNET title) but I loved seeing Terraria above the new CoD on your list!

    (For those that have never tried Terraria, you should. Fiendishly, excellent game for the tiny price tag).

  9. 420 said on November 6, 2016 at 1:18 pm
    Reply

    yet another dumbass company that does not care 2 shits about its customers.

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