Call of Duty: Creating Supernatural Operators for Season 06: The Haunting
Making things go bump in the night usually has a very different meaning in Call of Duty – you’re usually surprising an opponent with a well-placed grenade. But Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II’s Season 06 – The Haunting has been adding supernatural elements to Multiplayer, and Call of duty: Warzone since last month to help give that phrase a delicious double meaning.
We’ve seen a zombie outbreak in Call of Duty: Warzone’s Vondel map, a limited-time Zombie Royale mode, spooky map reskins in Multiplayer, and Halloween-themed twists on classic Multiplayer modes. But perhaps most exciting are the crossover characters we’ve seen arriving as playable Operators, and themed weapon packs based on iconic franchises.
Headlined by Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, we can now see Skeletor from “Masters of the Universe” in-game, Ash from “Evil Dead 2,” and Diablo IV’s Inarius will be making an appearance soon as well, among others. It’s clearly been a massive undertaking to bring so much Halloween-themed content to Call of Duty – but Infinity Ward Production Director Dino Verano says it’s been an enjoyable one.
“It’s been super fun, and you could literally feel the excitement through the walls and Zoom calls. We were lucky enough to work with such iconic partners and be able to bring it all to life in a Call of Duty way we know players will love.”
Of course, bringing iconic characters to the game comes with its own quirks – we made sure to ask about the process of introducing some of these big names came about.
Spawn
The Haunting’s Spawn content (out now) is anything but a single Operator skin. We’ve seen Spawn’s human form, Al Simmons, added as an operator alongside his classic costumed look (above), a Burned Spawn Al Simmons skin, and skins for many of his greatest foes – from Violator to Disruptor.
“Working on Spawn with Todd McFarlane was an absolute blast,” says Verano. “He’s always got a great story and never fails to make us all laugh – the hardest thing with him was ending meetings on time. ‘Take my creation and turn it into something awesome!’ — what a legend…”
Doom
One of the originators of the FPS genre, it’s no surprise to see Doom represented as part of The Haunting. This Tracer Weapon Bundle (out now) adds the original’s long-range shotgun and chainsaw to the mix.
“A lot of us here grew up playing Doom, but some of the younger folks in the studio were wondering what Doom was, so we took a stroll down memory lane and watched some gameplay, which was so much fun – and it’s still awesome by the way.”
Hellsing
The classic manga and anime series “Hellsing” focuses on an organization dedicated to battling vampires and other supernatural forces, so it’s a perfect fit for The Haunting. The Hellsing Bundle (out now) offers players the chance to step into the shoes of Alucard, the vampire turned vampire hunter.
“Even though Alucard is always smiling, there’s really nothing funny about that one… but he really turned out fantastic, the team really nailed the anime aesthetic, even the way his glasses sort of glow in the darkness.”
Evil Dead 2
Ash Williams is no stranger to fighting off the forces of evil, so this Operator Bundle (available now) fits in very nicely. Adding the version of Ash from “Evil Dead 2,” complete with boomstick Weapon Blueprints and more, there’s even a special extra detail the team worked on:
“For Evil Dead 2, our partners mentioned, ‘OK, just remember that no matter what, Ash always has blood on his face.’ And on a call, our team was just like, ‘OK, so what if we make it reactive, and his face and weapons all just get bloodier as he goes?’”
Diablo IV
The Call of Duty team didn’t have to look too far for fellow developers with experience of creating games about fighting off the forces of Hell. Their Activision Blizzard colleagues on the Diablo IV team opened the door to creating Operator Bundles based on the fallen archangel Inarius (coming soon), and the demon queen herself, Lilith (out now).
“We had multiple meetings discussing Diablo content with the team down at Blizzard. We had an awesome time discussing the project with them overall, and every single one of the meetings involved several people yelling, ‘fresh meat!’”
Skeletor
One of the greatest cartoon villains ever is quite literally (and some would say confusingly) a musclebound skeleton – I personally cannot wait to see him sharing the field with other Operators. The Skeletor Bundle (out now) comes with a wonderful new Operator, sorcery-themed Blueprints, and new Emblems – but it had an unintended side-effect for the team: “Don’t even get me started on the Skeletor laughs and impressions you constantly hear up and down our hallways…”
Season 06: The Haunting will continue in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone until the end of October – make sure to check it out to grab the Halloween crossover pack of your nightmares…
Call of Duty®
Activision Publishing Inc.
Call of Duty® HQ supports Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III, Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II and Call of Duty®: Warzone™.
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III is the direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II. Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against the ultimate threat. The ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov is extending his grasp across the world causing Task Force 141 to fight like never before.
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II drops players into an unprecedented global conflict that features the return of the iconic Operators of Task Force 141.
Call of Duty®: Warzone™ is the massive free-to-play combat arena which features Battle Royales, Resurgence and DMZ.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.
© 2022-2023 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, MODERN WARFARE and CALL OF DUTY WARZONE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software (‘Id Technology’). Id Technology © 1999-2023 Id Software, Inc.
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II – Cross-Gen Bundle
Activision Publishing Inc.
$69.99
Includes:
– Cross Gen Bundle of Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II
— Includes Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions of the game
Welcome to the new era of Call of Duty®.
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II drops players into an unprecedented global conflict that features the return of the iconic Operators of Task Force 141.
Infinity Ward brings fans state-of-the-art gameplay, with all-new gun handling, advanced AI system, a new Gunsmith and a suite of other gameplay and graphical innovations that elevate the franchise to new heights.
Modern Warfare® II launches with a globe-trotting single-player campaign, immersive Multiplayer combat and an evolved Special Ops game mode featuring tactical co-op gameplay.
You also get access to Call of Duty®: Warzone™, the all-new Battle Royale experience.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.
© 2022-2023 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, MODERN WARFARE and CALL OF DUTY WARZONE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software (‘Id Technology’). Id Technology © 1999-2023 Id Software, Inc.
Call of Duty®: Warzone™
Activision Publishing Inc.
Welcome to Warzone™, the massive free-to-play combat arena which now features the brand-new map, Al Mazrah.
Turn the Heat Up
Join forces with your friends and jump into a sprawling battleground in the metropolitan area and rural outskirts within the Republic of Adal.
Loot For Rewards
Discover supply boxes and complete contracts to build your arsenal and gain a tactical advantage.
Introducing DMZ Mode
Drop into the all-new sandbox objective-based mode to choose your own experience within the warzone and collecting gear to keep in your Call of Duty®: Warzone™ inventory.
Purchase the Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II Vault Edition and get the Red Team 141 Operator Pack, FJX Cinder Weapon Vault*, 10 hours of 2XP, 10 hours of Weapons 2XP, Battle Pass and 50 Tier Skips** – also usable in Warzone™.
An Xbox Live Gold subscription is not required to play the Warzone™ game mode. All other online modes still require Xbox Live Gold.
*Weapon Vault design limited to Weapon Vault contents at launch.
**Battle Pass redemption applies to one season of Modern Warfare® II Battle Pass only.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.
© 2022-2023 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, MODERN WARFARE and CALL OF DUTY WARZONE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software (‘Id Technology’). Id Technology © 1999-2023 Id Software, Inc.
