Modern Warfare 2 box art includes 'Call of Duty'

by Justin McElroy { Jul 9th 2009 at 3:44PM }

Though we all believed that Modern Warfare 2 had completely dropped the "Call of Duty" moniker, that's not exactly the case, judging by some new box art just posted by Infinity Ward spokesman Robert Bowling on his Twitter account.

We're not sure if this is a new official name for the game, but we'll do our best to find out. In the meanwhile, check out the full box art after the break.

Tags: activision, box-art, call-of-duty, call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2, infinity-ward, modern-warfare-2

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Jeremy White @ Jul 9th 2009 3:47PM

can't wait.

CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jul 9th 2009 3:58PM

There really wasn't any reason to drop it. Just the name "Call of Duty" will bring in a couple million more sales. Not having it there doesn't accomplish anything.

FraGNeM @ Jul 9th 2009 4:16PM

I assume it was more of an Infinity Ward decision; an attempt to create brand recognition around "Modern Warfare" as opposed to "Call of Duty", which is owned by Activision.

Once they realized that too many people were unaware of MW2 without the CoD prefix, they probably decided to stick CoD back on the box.

My guess is that "Call of Duty" will not be so much as mentioned within the game itself.

Mr Khan @ Jul 9th 2009 4:53PM

All of it is owned by Activision, i thought. Is Infinity Ward itself owned by them, too?

Damian @ Jul 9th 2009 5:10PM

That made me laugh so much, because it looks like they just photoshopped the Call of Duty logo onto it,after making the modern warefare 2 box, seriously imagine the call of duty logo was not there, and you will see.

Riley @ Jul 9th 2009 9:01PM

of course they photoshopped it on, when they designed the box art

DWells55 @ Jul 9th 2009 3:47PM

I hope that's not the final box art - looks pretty plain and generic to me. I was also looking forward to them having dropped the Call of Duty moniker so they could go in their own direction. Oh well.

VaultICEE @ Jul 9th 2009 4:07PM

Hmm. It seems like Activision games recently have been getting less than stellar box arts lately... or it just me?

Longhorn of Myon [PSN: MariusElijah] @ Jul 9th 2009 4:18PM

"pretty plain and generic"

i think thats the best cover then since it portrays the game accurately

Neuromancer @ Jul 9th 2009 4:27PM

Got to go with Longhorn on this one.

WREturns @ Jul 9th 2009 4:30PM

When I saw the words "pretty plain and generic" I immediately thought of Killzone 2.

Edog Lost @ Jul 9th 2009 4:40PM

There is no way that is the final box art.
First, there is no ESRB or PEGI rating or rating pending on the front.
Second, there is no PAL or NTSC branding that would be represented in the upper right hand side.
Third, there is no Activision branding on the front.

Even if this was temp art for store shelfs, the game would require a rating pending ESRB symbol.

Neuromancer @ Jul 9th 2009 4:41PM

That too, WREturns...

Jinsenken @ Jul 9th 2009 4:41PM

Trolls trolling trolls trolling trolls...

SaMav @ Jul 9th 2009 4:44PM

I am so tired of reading WRE's Killzone 2 comments.

It is by far MY favorite game on the PS3.... Well Uncharted isn't too far behind.

paperless @ Jul 9th 2009 4:59PM

Via yfrog:

" radracerx wrote:
2009-07-09 20:35
This is just a first run. Every developer does it. My studio will test every single box art in a box to see how it looks. When we get the final design, we print it off with minimal distractions (no esrb or publisher stuff) and we do the same with the instruction booklets, which you'll notice he's holding. This is real, it's just not the EXACT one that will be in the stores. I'm sure it's the final one minus publisher and esrb stuff."

Damian @ Jul 9th 2009 5:15PM

You are not going to be playing the box art, so i don't see the problem.
Also i think the box art looks really cool.

Sly @ Jul 9th 2009 5:33PM

yeah, it's like activision isn't even trying with its box art decisions. guitar hero 5's art? ugh.

JXCgunrunna @ Jul 9th 2009 6:56PM

I don't think this is final... we over at IW's forums hope its not...

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Jul 9th 2009 3:48PM

well well.....

CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jul 9th 2009 5:41PM

Thanks for that insightful comment.

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Jul 9th 2009 5:42PM

you are more than welcome.....

David @ Jul 9th 2009 6:04PM

This boxart wasnt even half as good as the Modern Warfare boxart,

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Jul 10th 2009 8:00AM

yea I agree it does look a lil basic....hope its just a mock up

arrness (PSN: chsowls) @ Jul 9th 2009 3:48PM

huh.

whatever, its the game that counts.

casual gamers would still refer to it as call of duty regardless of if they drop the name or not.

j.howlett @ Jul 9th 2009 3:49PM

i'll wait to get the game of the year edition

mdotts @ Jul 9th 2009 4:52PM

are you kidding me? just buy the game...........u dont wait for the goty edition thats for ppl that missed out on it the first time. ur waiting so u can get a cooler box art? lol!!! thats foolish.

it looks like they just tacked that "call of duty" on at the last second. i dont think they should do that, but to keep the call of duty brand recognition, they should put

"FROM THE MAKERS OF 2007 GAME OF THE YEAR, CALL OF DUTY 4, INFINITY WARD PRESENTS" and then the game logo under it

so ppl would know, i mean infinity ward has to break off into their own path and get away from the call of duty name cause treyarch is trashing it and its becoming like a sports game with a release every year (fuck u activision) so they have to break off.

Ch0ppa @ Jul 9th 2009 4:59PM

Exactly how much recognition would Infinity Ward have gotten if the first game didnt have the Call of Duty brand? And yes Infinity Ward could branch off as you say, but they wouldnt be able to take anything from Call of Duty with them and do you think they could actually compete with Activision? Hell no. How exactly is Treyarch trashing Call of Duty hmmm? Cursing a company for giving a release every year? You are an r*tard. If they didnt do that, you'd probably still be bitching about how long it was taking before new games came out. They used 2 diff. dev teams so its not like they are really working on a 1-year cycle like Madden or other games. I personally dont want to have to wait 3 or 4 years for a sequel to an awesome game like CoD 4.

j.howlett @ Jul 9th 2009 6:54PM

cod games were never really my thing. i just got cod4 after having tried it near release on 360 and ps3. they aren't releasing everything on ps3 right away so i see no need to rush.

Shiaoran @ Jul 9th 2009 3:51PM

Smart move. CoD is a very well known name, even among people who don't like/know the games.

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Jul 9th 2009 3:51PM

Looks like there is some separation anxiety.

tenor77 @ Jul 9th 2009 3:52PM

I think this art was made prior to dropping the COD tag. Or maybe Treyarch whined enough that no one would buy their games.

Zombie @ Jul 9th 2009 5:25PM

"Treyarch whined enough that no one would buy their games?" Thank you for the dumb comment

tenor77 @ Jul 9th 2009 7:10PM

And thank you for the even dumber reply.

I thought World at War sucked big giant Monkey Balls.

TittieSprinkles @ Jul 9th 2009 3:52PM

i guess they realized that many ppl didnt recognize "modern warfare 2" as the same brand as COD...... i think they had an article about that awhile back........

Romyion @ Jul 9th 2009 3:53PM

If you look at the side of the box in the second picture you can see that there aren't any end labels, so maybe that means it isn't the final box art. Let's just hope it isn't.

themissing @ Jul 9th 2009 3:54PM

Not that it matters because the game will be outstanding but that design is pretty awful. Text too small, the Call of Duty logo looks out of place both color wise and style wise and the 2 blends too much into the background. I graduated from art school, HIRE ME! damnit!

Bravo6 @ Jul 9th 2009 3:54PM

if that study about the name recognition was true, I can understand why they did it

Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 9th 2009 3:56PM

It looks to me like the position of the Call of Duty logo is in the right spot whereas if they remove(d) it, it wouldn't completely effect the rest of the box art.

So it's either old, or they haven't completely made up their minds yet. Just my thoughts.