Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has officially received its “M” rating and with that, rumors of cut content began to spark. The “M” rating for Call of Duty is synonymous with the franchise which leads to question why some believed this year’s game would receive a possible “AO” rating. That reason has to do with some highly graphic, and intense scenes from certain missions shown at an event in May.
The Modern Warfare franchise in particular isn’t afraid to portray violence in their story campaign. They want to bring the horrors of war that plagues the human condition with their games. The developers don’t want to shy away from these things and they can sometimes be hard to play and watch unfold in front of you. Reactions to demos shown at an event in May led people to believe that certain elements of the story would be cut. Particular story beats like the lines that blur between innocent civilian and terrorist as well as the horrors of war inflicted upon children were among those story beats in question.
Taylor Kurosaki, the Narrative Director for Infinity Ward, was quick to deny the idea they had cut the content in the story to achieve that “M” rating. Say what you want about Call of Duty as a franchise, but they stick to their narrative guns and don’t sacrifice key elements to their stories to lessen the shock players might be subjected to.
The Modern Warfare franchise in particular is used to this sort of response to their story beats. Modern Warfare 2 is notorious for their “No Russian” mission where you had to mow down innocent civilians in an airport to continue your infiltration of the enemies. At the end of the mission you are gunned down yourself as the others with you knew who you were all along. As a player, this leads you to question what you could have done differently and the horrors that people must face when in the heat of war.
Modern Warfare 3 features a family enjoying their vacation before a truck bomb goes off, killing everyone in the scene. It remains one of the most shocking moments in the entire series for many fans.
Yes, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has finally received its “M” rating. Despite possible backlash to some of the story beats and rumors of content being cut to reach that rating, the team behind Modern Warfare understand the story they want to tell and what that entails. They were quick to deny such rumors indicating they have kept those integral parts of the story intact. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is set to release October 25th and we will be able to experience these scenes unfold ourselves.
