CoD could get 'open-world campaigns' as early as Black Ops Gulf War

The Call of Duty series appears to be vastly changing its direction when it comes to the campaigns, as reports are suggesting that Black Ops Gulf War will be an "open world" experience, rather than the linear story mode that we've been used to for two decades.

Modern Warfare 3 started this trend of open-world elements in Call of Duty with the Campaign's disputed Open Combat Missions followed by the new DMZ-styled Zombies gameplay.

And now it appears Activision is leaning into this even further, as reports from Insider Gaming claim Raven Software is being placed on Treyarch's Black Ops Gulf War to create an open-world Campaign.

Black Ops Gulf War set for 'open world Campaign'

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According to the report from Insider Gaming, Black Ops Gulf War's Campaign will be an "open world" experience much more akin to something like Far Cry than anything we've ever had in the Call of Duty series before.

The Campaign will reportedly feature open-world staples such as fast travel to move from one location to the next, and players can utilise vehicles to take the scenic routes.

The report does suggest that there will be some form of linear approach to the storyline, players won't be cruising around in their tanks looking for Los Santos customs or learning Thu'um at the Throat of the World.

Returning characters such as Russel Adler are also expected per the report, which all but confirms that this will serve as a sequel title to Cold War too.

Open-world Campaigns reported to be the way forward for Call of Duty

Although there still remains time before the Black Ops Gulf War Campaign is to be signed off and pushed forth for release, it appears that this is a decision made by Activision, where more of the CoDs in development will take this "streamlined" approach. 

Call of Duty 2025, which is supposed to be a Treyarch game (although its lead studio status has yet to be confirmed) based on Black Ops 2 maps akin to this year's MW3, is also set to have an open-world Campaign according to Insider Gaming.

This approach does seem to be quite a bold step for Call of Duty given that the Open Combat Missions directly resulted in Modern Warfare 3 being the lowest-rated CoD ever upon release.

Still, with a fresh map, rather than reused Warzone assets, who is to say that this couldn't be a hit? It also frees up Treyarch for multiplayer and Zombies, which will be music to any Black Ops fan's ears.